Green and Gold
by tenyaaaaah
Summary: Four months after the war has ended, Ginny Weasley returns to Hogwarts, ready to take on everything life has to throw at her - Quidditch, relationships, lessons and maybe even a few surprises along the way. G&G is a romantic fantasy comedy drama with a touch of sport and teen soap.
1. Goin' Back to Hogwarts

**Chapter One: Goin' Back To Hogwarts**

"Are you sure you want to do this?" asked Ron as he pushed Hermione's trolley through the crowded platform. Crookshanks was lying asleep in his wicker basket, which had been placed near the handles.

Hermione reached out and squeezed Ron's arm with affection.

"Yes," she said, her voiced filled with a mix of determination and confusion. "It's just something I need to do."

Ron leaned across and kissed Hermione gently on the lips. In taking his eyes away from the crowd, he managed to hit the ankles of the person in front of him.

"Watch where you're going!" a gruff voice said angrily. The Muggle turned around and flashed Ron a warning look. The Weasley boy flushed red, embarrassed.

"What about you?" Harry asked Ginny. He was not pushing her trolley. He had asked her, but she snapped back that she was not helpless, and out of fear that he would finally experience the wrath of her bat bogey hex, he had not argued. "Are you sure you want to go back?"

Before Ginny could answer, Molly Weasley, who had been walking next to her daughter, flashed Harry a look that told him that all had already been decided upon. He smiled meekly and did not bring the subject up again.

Platforms nine and ten were unusually busy today. Parents were clinging to their children, not ready to let them go. Months had passed since the Dark Lord had fallen, but the fear was still there.

As Harry and the others approached the wall, whispers broke out. Children were pointing and staring as the family walked past. Harry felt himself grow red. In his eight years in the wizarding world, he had never gotten used to his level of fame.

Ron, however, was revelling in the attention. He had helped defeat Voldemort, so he sure as hell was going to soak up all the attention people were willing to give him. His posture changed. He walked proudly as he pushed Hermione's trolley up to the barrier.

He began to walk towards said barrier, but tripped up on a loose shoelace. Titters spread across the platform. Ron straightened himself up, and pushed the trolley. He and Hermione disappeared into the wall.

The noise did not die down with that. Harry and Ginny approached the barrier, and there were cries of 'That's Harry Potter!' audible.

The two took a deep breath and advanced towards the barrier. Harry closed his eyes, and by the time he opened them, he was on Platform 9 ¾, and the bright scarlet Hogwarts Express was visible. Steam filled the crowded platform.

Instinctively, Harry looked around to catch sight of people he knew, but there was no one. He sighed and turned his attention back to Ginny. She too was taking in the surroundings.

After everything that had happened the previous year, it was a strange sensation to see everything going on as normal. The atmosphere was clouded with a sense of both worry and relief. Parents were hugging their children tightly, and children were pushing them away, desperate to board the train.

"I don't see why you just join us," Ron was saying to Hermione for perhaps the hundredth time. Hermione shook her head and rolled her eyes, refusing to answer. She had told him many times that being an Auror just wasn't her thing. She wanted to complete her education and move into the Ministry, just as she had planned to do when she was fourteen.

Ginny reached her hand out, and Harry grasped it tightly.

"It's only a year," she whispered to him. Harry nodded and squeezed her hand again. Ginny coughed and then released her hand from his.

She surveyed the train once more, which stood on the tracks, bright and shining. It was almost a beacon of hope. Things would be back to normal because the Hogwarts Express stood tall and proud.

"It's going to be quieter without you," she said, almost jokingly. Harry grinned broadly and let out a sigh.

"No Dementors, no three-headed dogs, no Chamber of Secrets monster," he said, running his hand through his messy black hair. "What will you do for excitement?"

"I don't know," Ginny said, shrugging. "I might blow up a toilet."

"Ginny!" Molly snapped.

"Just send me the seat," Harry returned, winking. Molly placed her hands on her hips and let out a tutting noise.

"I will," Ginny shot back. "I'll get some help from Peeves."

Before Harry could respond, the shrill whistle of the train sounded out. Parents reluctantly released their children from their iron grips. Some boarded the train filled with excitement, others with trepidation.

Ron and Molly pushed the two trolleys over to the train, leaving Harry standing in silence with Ginny and Hermione.

"Take care," he said, moving in between them, and throwing his arms around their shoulders.

"We will," Hermione replied, her voice filled with melancholy as she thought of fallen friends.

"Don't get into too much trouble without me," he added in an attempt to cheer her up.

Neither answered. They were both looking into one of the windows of the train. They could see Luna Lovegood sitting by herself, her nose buried in what they assumed to be The Quibbler. Hermione shrugged Harry's arm off of her shoulder, and taking the hint, he let go of Ginny too.

"Bye," Harry said as Hermione made her way over to Ron. She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly.

"I'll see you at Christmas," Ginny said, smiling. Harry grinned back. He'd forgotten how much joy her slightly crooked smile brought him. It had been away for far too long.

"I'll be expecting an owl with that toilet seat," he joked, and Ginny laughed softly.

"I don't think Pig can handle it," she retorted, and Harry rolled his eyes.

"I'll send..." he stopped in his tracks. He shivered, and the smile left his face. Hedwig. He still hadn't gotten used to her not being there.

The train's whistle sounded again, this time louder.

"Look, I have to go," Ginny said with reluctance. She moved in to kiss him.

"Ginny!"

She stopped, her face inches from his.

"You'll be late!" It was Molly.

Ginny turned her head away from Harry to look at her mother.

"I'm coming," she shot back. She smiled meekly at Harry, who nodded.

"I'll see you at Christmas," he said to her softly. She looked at him one last time before jogging to the train. She turned around, waved, and walked onto the Hogwart's Express.

Harry watched on with a sense of melancholy. How he wished he was going home.

He pushed through the crowd of anxious parents and indifferent siblings until he was next to the window where he had seen Luna earlier. Ginny and Hermione had joined her.

He placed his hand on the cold glass, and Ginny reached out and covered his small hand with her smaller one.

Luna waved madly, and Harry nodded to her in acknowledgement. The final whistle sounded, and a gust of steam billowed out from under the train.

"Stand back, Harry," he heard Ron say, but he could not tear his eyes away from his girlfriend.

The sound of the wheels began to fill the platform, and suddenly the train jerked forward. Harry's hand snapped away from the window. The three girls waved back at him as the train started to slowly move.

He jogged along as the crimson engine began its journey. As it gathered speed, so did he, until he came to the edge of the platform. As the train sped away, there was nothing left for him to do but wave.

* * *

Ginny watched as Harry's figure faded into the distance, her hand still pressed up against the window. Slowly she allowed it to fall away, and she took her seat once more.

"You two are too much," Hermione giggled.

"You're one to talk," Ginny snapped back playfully.

"I think it's sweet," Luna added in her airy voice. "Oh! Someone saw a Crumple-Horned Snorkack in Australia!"

Luna turned all her attention back to her magazine, and Ginny and Hermione laughed warmly.

Once the laughter died away, all that could be heard was the sound of the wheels hitting the tracks, and the occasional snore emanating from the wicker cage that housed Crookshanks.

"What did you do for this holiday, Luna?" Hermione asked, wanting to eliminate the silence. The sound of nothing left her alone with her memories, and those frightened her more than anything else.

"I went looking for Wrackspurts," she said, not tearing her eyes away from the glossy magazine in front of her. "I spent a lot of time with my family. I visited my mother's grave a lot."

"I think we all did that," Ginny added, thinking of Fred.

There was another brief silence.

"I went to Australia," Hermione said to her friend, desperate for the conversation to continue. Luna folded The Quibbler shut and placed it on the empty seat next to her.

"Did you happen to see any Crumple-Horned Snorkacks?"

Hermione shook her head.

"I tracked down Wendell and Monica Wilkins," she said, tears beginning to form in the corners of her eyes. She blinked them away before they could fall. "It took a while. Who knew Australia was that big?" she asked, even though she herself knew.

"Who are Wendell and Monica Wilkins?" Luna asked, her voiced still tinged with an innocence long lost in others.

"Wendell and Monica Wilkins are my parents," Hermione cried with joy. She allowed the tears that had been threatening to spill fall.

Luna did not say anything in response. Instead she reached across from her seat and pulled Hermione into a loose embrace.

Neither spoke, and Luna felt a lump form in her throat. Ginny felt like crying, she felt like screaming. She stood up from the soft, slightly frayed seat, brushed past the hugging duo and went out into the corridor.

The atmosphere outside was decidedly less triumphant. It was a sombre affair. She recognised people who had lost parents, siblings, and friends, wandering from carriage to carriage, feeling lost and alone.

Ginny knew how they felt.

She took a few deep breaths, composing herself. She felt silly. She wasn't the first person in the world to lose somebody they loved. But it felt like she was. She looked around at those laughing and wondered how they could do it so easily, she heard snatches of conversations not about death and destruction and she couldn't see what else there was to talk about.

She exhaled deeply, and turned back to the compartment door. She pushed it open and slid back in, taking a seat close to the door. Hermione had begun to change into her robes, prepared as always.

"Really, Hermione?" she asked, grinning as the bushy-haired girl straightened her tie.

"Why not?" she asked, shooting Ginny a look of confusion. "It doesn't hurt to be prepared."

"Prepared for what? The worst thing that'll happen is you change at the last minute."

"Along with everyone else," she returned, folding her arms across her chest to indicate she felt the conversation was over.

Ginny didn't fight back. She was surprised at how heated the whole exchange had gotten.

The repetitive sound of the wheels hitting the tracks faded into the background. It was a comfortable constant that Ginny found soothing. Luna had given up reading her Quibbler, and was now engulfed in a slightly battered copy of _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_. Hermione was looking out at the fields as they train flew past, the sky turning a shade somewhere between orange and pink. They would be at Hogsmeade Station very soon.

The silence wasn't comfortable at all. It was filled with an air of awkwardness, almost to an oppressive level. Ginny wanted to talk, but didn't know what about. Hermione had begun to think of the battle yet again, the events of which had been playing in her mind ever since it had been won. Luna remained blissfully ignorant of the internal conflicts of her two friends, and they both admired her for it.

Ginny decided it was time to change. The station would be in sight soon, and Hermione's words about changing too late hung in the air. She and Luna pulled on their robes in a hurry, and then sat back down, a sense of excitement finally filling the compartment.

"It'll be good to be home," Lune said in a childlike voice.

"If it still feels like home," Hermione replied to nobody in particular.

"It will," Ginny said, determination in her voice. "We'll make sure of it."

* * *

As the Thestral-drawn carriage made its way up the long drive past the magnificent wrought iron Entrance Gates, Ginny leaned back to admire the castle that loomed ahead. She glanced down at the horrifying creatures that pulled the carriages, and then looked back up at the castle that had been her second home for so long. Images of her brother filled her mind, thoughts of Lupin and Tonks and Lavender. She had not known any of them as well as she would have liked, and now she would never have that opportunity.

Her mind flicked away from the dead, back to the castle itself. She wondered what had been done. She wondered whether everything was how it once was. But she knew that it never would be.

"Ginny, are you okay?" Hermione patted Ginny's arm gently, pulling her out of her reverie.

"Yeah," Ginny said.

"Was it the Wrackspurts?" Luna asked in a dreamy voice.

Ginny turned to look at her, a small smile on her face. She was glad to discover that even though everything was drastically different, Luna was still very much like her old self. She didn't answer Luna, but instead said, "I've missed you."

Luna responded by giving Ginny a Butterbeer cork necklace that was identical to the one she wore around her neck. She reached into her pocket and pulled one out for Hermione too.

"It's to keep away the Nargles," she told them. Both Ginny and Hermione accepted the necklaces and put them around their necks. Luna beamed at them.

When their carriage came to a stop outside the stairs that led up to the castle's double oak doors, Luna was the first one out of the carriage. Ginny and Hermione were more hesitant. They looked at each other, not knowing what to do, feeling overwhelmed. Ginny could see the fear in Hermione's eyes. She wondered if Hermione could see those same feelings in her eyes. After some time, Ginny squeezed Hermione's hand to let her know that everything was going to be okay, and followed Luna out.

What had once been a clean and welcoming sight was now tinged with death and destruction. Piles of rubble were still strewn across the courtyard that had been one of the key battlefields of the War. The bloodstains had been magicked away, but pieces of the castle wall were enough of a reminder of the massacre that had taken place four months ago.

Ginny felt herself shudder. She had seen people fall, the good guys, the Death Eaters. Death was death, and what she saw would never leave her. As she, Hermione and Luna followed the swarm of students into the Entrance Hall, Ginny found herself looking around, soaking in her surroundings. Amongst the feelings of loss and pain, Ginny felt something she hadn't expected to feel: amazement. She was amazed that despite the events that occurred four months ago, Hogwarts had undergone a major facelift in an attempt to restore the school to its former glory.

As they entered the Great Hall, Ginny saw that the four House tables were no longer there. Instead, smaller picnic-sized tables had been scattered throughout the Hall, with a space in the middle of the room large enough to be an aisle. Hermione found them an empty table, and they were soon joined by some fourth-year Ravenclaw boys. Luna had buried her nose in The Quibbler again, while Ginny looked around the Hall. She noticed that while Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw students were mingling, the Slytherins isolated themselves, deciding to sit in the position of their old House table.

A hush fell over the crowded room as the double doors opened to reveal Professor Flitwick and a group of nervous-looking first-years. Ginny was surprised to see that so many of them had left home so close after the devastation of four months ago, but she remembered that she had decided to return too. Life had to go on.

There were sniggers in the crowd as Professor Flitwick and the first-years took their first few steps into the Hall. It was evident that Professor Flitwick was carrying more than he could handle - the three legged stool, which was almost as tall as him, was in his right hand, while the magically repaired Sorting Hat was in his left. Hagrid lumbered forward to help him out, and without any further incidents, the first-years made it to the front of the Hall unscathed.

Professor Flitwick cleared his throat and said in his squeaky voice, "When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted." One of the first-years let out a nervous giggle. Professor Flitwick looked down at the roll of parchment that he was holding and said, "Anthony, Georgiana."

A tall, brown-haired girl stepped forward timidly, put on the Sorting Hat and sat on the stool. There was a moment's pause before the Hat shouted, "RAVENCLAW!"

Shouts and cheers came from various points in the room, as the Ravenclaw students were scattered. Georgiana Anthony went to sit at an empty table, which was reserved for the first-years.

The crowd fell silent again as another name was called, "Baker, Wilson."

The Hat took much longer to decide this time, and whispers that had broken out had to be quelled by Filch, who was pacing up and down the side of the Hall.

Finally, the Hat decided on, "SLYTHERIN!" and the far right of the Hall exploded with cheers.

Ginny's eyes wandered away from the Sorting Ceremony to the High Table, where all the teachers were sitting. As she looked from one end to the other, she realised that she recognised most of them, which meant that a lot of them had chosen to return. Professor McGonagall sat in the golden chair in the middle. On either side of her were Professor Slughorn and an empty chair which Ginny assumed belonged to Professor Flitwick. Next to that chair, sitting in Snape's old seat, was a tall, blond man wearing a shimmery, silver robe that looked like it was made of the most delicate of silks. Ginny bit her lip to hide her small smile. He reminded her of Gilderoy Lockhart. Ginny assumed he was the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, and she wondered if this man knew what he was getting into - everyone knew that Defence Against the Dark Arts was the hardest job. She tore her eyes away from him to glance around the Hall to see if anyone else had noticed the new addition to the High Table.

The majority of the room was staring at him. Even some of the teachers were stealing glances. It was only when Professor McGonagall rose from the centre chair that the hullabaloo died down.

She approached the little podium where Professor Dumbledore had always given his speech. She coughed, and before long all the eyes had left the mysterious professor and were now focused on her.

"Good evening," she began, her voice seemed frailer than it had ever been. Ginny assumed that it was the war that had taken it out of her. "First, I would like to welcome you here to Hogwarts. It's not much, but it's home."

Ginny smiled, Professor McGonagall would make all her fears go away.

"I'm not going to say much now, because I'm sure you're all quite hungry," she looked around at all the faces staring up at her. "I'm not even bothering with the School Song, because why we must sing that dreadful thing every year I do not know..."

A few giggles emanated from the students, who were well aware of Professor Dumbledore's fondness for it.

"So eat up, drink, and be merry," she concluded, raising her arms. Food began to magically fill the plates in front of the students. Many of the first years watched in amazement and delight. Ginny looked down at her own plate, heard her stomach grumbling and dug in.

* * *

"I forgot how good Hogwarts food was..." one of the fourth-year Ravenclaw boys on their table said with his mouth full.

Hermione gave him a disgusted glare, "It's only good because enslaved house elves are forced to prepare and cook it."

"Come on Hermione," Ginny rolled her eyes. "Not spew again."

"What's spew?" another boy wrinkled his nose.

"Not spew," Hermione said quickly. "S.P.E.W. The Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare."

The Ravenclaw boys looked at her bewilderedly before bursting into laughter.

"They need our help more than ever!" Hermione said vehemently. When no one looked convinced, she said quietly, "They fought in the war too."

The boys stopped laughing in an instant and hastily shoved food into their mouths to avoid talking. Luna had preoccupied herself with braiding her hair, but Ginny knew that she was listening. Ginny was the only one who looked at Hermione.

"Whatever we're feeling now, I _know_ that they feel ten times worse. We may have lost our friends, but they've lost theirs too." Tears welled up in Hermione's eyes. "We need to help them. They -"

"Hermione, stop," Ginny said softly. "We'll help you." She looked at the people on her table. "Won't we?"

The boys refused to look at her as her eyes swept the table. Luna nodded at her to show her support. Ginny glowered at the Ravenclaw boys, and one by one, they agreed.

"Thanks," Hermione sniffed. "You don't know how much this means to me. I'll make you all a badge."

Ginny internally groaned. She loved the fact that her friend was pursuing something that she believed in, but she really didn't want to wear a _spew_ badge. She heard the boys groan audibly, and in an attempt to cover it up, she turned to Hermione and engaged her in a conversation about Dirigible plums, a conversation in which Luna happily joined.

* * *

The meal was over, and the leftover food faded away, leaving spotless plates. Professor McGonagall rose from the Headmistress' chair and approached the podium once more. She gripped the sides of it tightly, and waited for silence. It came quicker than she had hoped. She cleared her throat, and began to speak.

"I must begin my speech tonight by declaring that we have done everything within our power to make sure Hogwarts remains a safe place for all of you once more. The events of last year were tragic, and I'm sure have all changed us. We must not forget those who sacrificed their lives to rid our world from the evils of a power mad dictator, to make it safe for you to carry on with your lives. That's not to say we all should not move on. Of course we must. One cannot live in the past, one cannot hold onto the desires of yesterday. Living in the past hinders all that they gave their lives for, so I urge you all to try your hardest to fall back into a life that is as normal as possible. Of course, I am not telling you to forget. You should spend a few minutes of every day remembering the everyday bravery of those who gave their lives to make the Wizarding World a better place to live. Do not dwell on those lives that were taken from us far too soon, but remember their contributions to the newer, safer world."

Hagrid's sobs filled the Great Hall, and Ginny felt tears on her cheeks. She couldn't help but remember all that had happened in this very hall. She remembered the sight of uncovered bodies lying on the cold, stone floor. She shuddered.

"Now that we have that over and done with," Professor McGonagall said, her voice shaking as if she was suppressing her emotions. "There are many rules that you must obey during your time here, a list of which can be found pinned to the door of our Caretaker, Mr. Filch's office.

The bony man waved out at the children from the corner of his room, his faithful tabby cat Mrs. Norris clutched tightly to his chest.

"I should like to remind you that the Forbidden Forest is forbidden for a reason," she glanced across the hall in the general direction of Ginny, Luna and Hermione, who averted her gaze. "Also, anybody caught out of bed will be punished. Probably by Mr. Filch."

He once again waved out at the students.

"With all that out of the way, I must send you to your Common Rooms," she began to conclude. "I leave it up to the Prefects and the heads of houses to deal with that."

With that she returned to her chair, and watched as the heads of houses rose, joining the throng of students who were forming lines behind their prefects.

* * *

As soon as Ginny reached the Gryffindor girls' dormitory, a wave of fatigue washed over her and she collapsed onto her bed without changing. She blinked, trying to keep herself awake. She wanted to see if Hermione was going to talk to her - they had grown close over the past four months. She stared at the ceiling of her four-poster bed, listening to the other girls chatting around her. Hermione, however, didn't say a word as she prepared for bed, so Ginny didn't say anything either. As soon as the room fell silent, Ginny didn't feel like sleeping. So she just lay in bed, looking up, thinking.

She thought of how her classes would go. She wondered whether her old professors thought about the times before the war. She thought of the subjects that she had chosen to do, and wondered why she had chosen some of them. She thought of the new teachers, and wondered how they would fit in at Hogwarts. She thought of all the students that had returned, and how they felt to be back. Would they all try to move on with their lives just as Professor McGonagall had asked them to? Or would some of them stay in the past?

The last thing on Ginny's mind before she fell asleep was Quidditch. She smiled as she closed her eyes. She loved Quidditch...

* * *

**What to expect next chapter:  
**- We meet the mysterious Defence Against the Dark Arts professor.  
- We meet the Gryffindor Quidditch team, and get to know some of its members.

* * *

_**A/N:** Just a quick note to say that this is a collaborative story between myself and my friend, Andrew. We really hope that you enjoyed the first chapter of 'Green and Gold', and that you will continue to follow Ginny on her journey._

_If you have any questions, queries or comments, please don't hesitate to contact me._

_And if you really enjoyed this chapter (or didn't enjoy it...), please leave some love in the form of a _**review**_. Thanks so much._


	2. Back To Normal

**Chapter Two: Back To Normal**

Ginny awoke the next morning feeling slightly better. She climbed out of bed and began to dress for breakfast. When she turned around, she saw a crumpled piece of parchment lying at the foot of her four-poster bed. She picked it up. The handwriting was unrecognisable, but it said that Quidditch training would begin that evening after dinner.

When Ginny arrived in the Entrance Hall a couple of minutes later, she found it to be chaotic, disorganised and loud - very loud. Students from all four houses were standing about in little groups, unsure of what to do. Ginny walked around, peering through the crowd, trying to find people that she knew.

"Ginny!" Luna called out from the door that led into the Great Hall.

Ginny made her way to Luna, trying hard not to push the first-years, who were standing around nervously, over.

The Great Hall was in even more disarray. Without the house tables, the prefects were hard to discern, and people wove around the smaller tables trying to find their friends and their timetables.

"Hermione has your timetable," Luna informed Ginny.

"Oh good," Ginny said. "I don't even know who the Gryffindor prefect is."

Luna shrugged and said, "Hermione's sitting over here."

Luna led Ginny over to a table that was near the front of the room. Hermione sat there eating a piece of toast, examining her timetable.

"Good morning," Ginny greeted Hermione.

"We have Defence Against the Dark Arts first," Hermione told Ginny and gave her her timetable.

Ginny looked at the piece of parchment that she was holding in her hands. Looking down at the Wednesday column, she saw that Hermione was right - they did have Defence Against the Dark Arts first. She looked for the teacher's name and saw the initials TS. He or she was definitely a new teacher. Ginny remembered the man that had captured the school's attention last night.

"After DADA, we all split up," Hermione said. She poured some orange juice into a glass.

Ginny looked at the box under Defence Against the Dark Arts. It said Muggle Studies. Ginny shook her head. Why on earth had she picked Muggle Studies? Underneath that were the subjects Transfiguration, Potions and Herbology.

"Good day?" Luna asked, glancing at Ginny's timetable.

Ginny shrugged, "My prediction is that they'll all talk about N.E. and the day will go by really quickly, so it won't matter much if it's a good day or not."

"It'll be a good day because we have Quidditch training this evening," a girl with reddish-brown hair sat down next to Ginny.

"Hi Demelza," Ginny said. She noticed the Captain badge on Demelza's jumper. "Congratulations."

"Thanks," Demelza said. "I expect to see you at the Quidditch Pitch tonight at half past six sharp. I know it's still the first day of school, but I've been told that the Quidditch season is beginning earlier this year and we have to train."

"Okay," Ginny nodded. She understood why Demelza wanted to start training early. Quidditch was serious. "I'll see you there."

Demelza gave Ginny a small smile before crossing the room to sit next to Ritchie Coote and Jimmy Peakes. Ginny assumed they were still on the team as Beaters. She turned back to Luna and Hermione.

"Maybe it'll be a good day after all," she said.

"That's the right attitude," Luna said.

* * *

"My name is Professor Snibsob."

The man had a smooth, deep voice. His robe was black and elegant. He was stood in front of his desk, a copy of the textbook open in his hands. He glanced around the room, taking in all the faces staring at him in awe.

"I don't quite know where to begin teaching you," he continued, "From what I've heard, most of you are veterans. Well done." He laughed awkwardly.

Hermione was staring at Snibsob in awe. He reminded her of someone, but she couldn't work it out. Ginny and Luna were sat either side of her at the battle scarred bench. Luna was listening intently to every word he was saying, but Ginny had tuned out. Her mind had floated back to Quidditch, and the thought of being back out on the field again. She couldn't wait.

Ginny was brought back to reality when her elbow was knocked by Hermione's arm, which was on its way up into the air. Ginny looked around the room. All of her classmates had their hands up. Even Luna.

"What's going on?" Ginny asked Hermione. Hermione didn't respond - she was too fixed on the man standing at the front of the classroom. Ginny turned to Luna. "Luna, what's going on?"

Before Luna could answer however, Snibsob said, "Now...let's see what you all want to learn…"

He put the textbook down onto his desk and stood with his back to the blackboard, facing the class.

"So let's hear some suggestions," Snibsob said. He picked up a piece of chalk and pointed to Hermione.

"I'd like to know about the theory behind nonverbal spells," Hermione said. Snibsob wrote what she said on the board, then pointed to a Hufflepuff boy sitting to the right of the room.

"Dark creatures!"

"Oh yes, that's a good one," Snibsob muttered. Ginny was unsure of whether he was talking to the class or to himself. He pointed to a stony-faced Slytherin girl at the back of the room.

"Unforgivable Curses," she suggested.

Snibsob nodded absent-mindedly while the rest of the class made noises of disgust. Snibsob, who had turned his back on the class to write the suggestion on the blackboard, didn't know how to respond. There was a long, silent pause. Ginny looked around the classroom, just waiting for someone to speak. Eventually, Snibsob pointed to a raven-haired boy sitting in the row across from her.

"Patronuses."

Snibsob clapped his hands excitedly, dropping the piece of chalk that he had been holding. The class stared at him in bewilderment. He wrote the word on the blackboard with another piece of chalk, then faced them again. He had a wide grin spread across his face.

"I love Patronuses!" he told them giddily. A few people laughed awkwardly, unsure of how to react. He then proceeded to tell them all about Patronuses.

Half an hour later, the board was only half-full and Ginny felt like she had wasted an hour of her life learning about something she already knew. In saying that, she thought that Professor Snibsob had done a pretty decent job of teaching the class about Patronuses.

To conclude his lesson, Professor Snibsob told them a piece of trivia.

"Now, before you go, class," he said in a mysterious voice. "I want to let you all know that I have more than one connection to Hogwarts. Class dismissed."

"That was strange," Ginny exchanged looks with Luna. Luna nodded as she put her quill and ink bottle into her bag. "What do you have next?"

"Divination," Luna replied. "It's a shame Firenze isn't teaching anymore, but Professor Trelawney has more experience anyway."

Hermione, who had been packing away her things while glancing at the front of the room, turned to Luna. She opened her mouth to disagree, but Ginny cut across her.

"We're going to be late," Ginny said firmly. Hermione closed her mouth. "Let's go."

Luna led the way out of the classroom. Hermione was reluctant to leave - Professor Snibsob was sitting at his desk. Ginny pulled on Hermione's arm, and the three parted ways at the end of the corridor.

* * *

The Great Hall was crowded when Ginny arrived. She was out of breath, having walked briskly from the dungeons to get to the Hall on time. She glanced around and saw Hermione and Luna sitting at one of the picnic tables. Hermione looked flustered, and was talking animatedly. Luna, however, looked calm. Ginny walked closer and caught sections of their conversation.

Hermione was explaining to Luna why she believed that Divination was pointless. Luna was listening respectfully before adding in her soft voice.

"You're wrong."

Ginny laughed.

"But you're entitled to your opinion."

Hermione looked as if she were about to explode. Ginny swooped in and sat between them.

"Hi, friends!" she said, smiling. She looked from Luna to Hermione, and then down at the food in front of her. "Gosh, I'm ravenous. Who knew brewing potions was such hard work?"

The tension seemed to die down, which pleased Ginny immensely.

The trio sat momentarily in silence as they began to eat, which gave them the benefit of being about to catch snippets of other people's conversations. The hot topic of today seemed to be Professor Snibsob. His eccentric manner, his looks, his strange trivia, it all gave people something to talk about.

"How have your days…" Ginny stopped herself, remembering the argument that had brewed. "Good food, this."

Hermione opened her mouth to speak.

"Before you say anything," Ginny said, raising her finger to silence her friend. "I'm very well aware of everything the House Elves go through, and I'm grateful, and appalled at their treatment as much as you are. But for once, _just once_, can we manage to have a meal without you SPEWing everywhere?"

Hermione opened her mouth again, but then shut it, before taking a rather large bite from a sandwich she found in front of her.

Luna pushed her plate away from her. She had already finished eating.

"You two take so long."

"I've only just gotten here!" Ginny cried, motioning to the untouched plate in front of her. She reached out and grabbed as much food as she could. She couldn't understand why she was feeling so hungry all of a sudden. She blamed it on her Weasley genes.

"What did you think of Professor Charming?" Hermione asked suddenly. Her cheeks reddened and she made an attempt to fan herself to cool down.

"Cool it, tiger," Ginny said playfully. "You're taken, remember?"

"Doesn't mean I can't admire him from afar," she returned, a grin plastered across her face.

Luna shrugged her shoulders.

"He's a bit generic," she muttered. "He could be anyone."

Hermione scoffed. "I suppose you want somebody four foot two with blue hair and yellow eyes."

"If he was interesting," Luna returned.

Ginny laughed, stabbing her fork into a tomato.

"Remember, Hermione," she began, "You are dating my brother."

Hermione flushed redder than before.

"Ron's attractive," she said in a whisper that was barely loud enough for her friends to hear.

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Ginny replied, placing the tomato in her mouth.

"Or like you don't believe it," was Luna's reply. Hermione's face was as red as the tomatoes on Ginny's plate. She turned away from her friends and took another bite of the sandwich.

"I am attracted to Ronald Weasley," she declared, sounding as if she was trying to convince herself, however her voice betrayed her. "Even if he is _interesting_."

Ginny and Luna looked at one another and broke into laughter.

"Was that so hard to admit?" Ginny asked, knowing full well Hermione was unsure of herself.

Hermione brushed the hair out of her eyes, the colour draining from her face. Her cheeks remained slightly pink. "Not at all," she said, avoiding eye contact.

Hermione looked around the Great Hall and noticed that not many people were left. She glanced down at her watch and realised that their lunch hour was over.

"Time for Herbology," she stood up and smoothed the creases out of her school skirt. Luna stood up as well and grabbed her books. Ginny remained sitting, looking back and forth between her plate and her friends. Hermione raised an eyebrow at her.

"You go ahead," Ginny said. "I'll catch up."

"Bye," Luna waved to her as she and Hermione walked away.

* * *

The rest of the day was uneventful, with the most exciting thing having happened being Professor Sprout tripping over a bag of soil Mr. Filch had left lying around.

Before Ginny knew it, it was time for dinner. She joined Luna and Hermione and they sat huddled together. Ginny glanced across the room and saw Demelza glaring at her. Ginny scoffed down the food that she had on the plate in front of her, and then reluctantly stood up, looking longingly at the pudding that had just appeared on the table.

She looked back up. Demelza was stood with her arms folded across her chest. Ginny walked away from the delectable looking food sadly. Demelza nodded, and soon the pair were walking down to the Quidditch pitch.

The weather outside was just how it looked in the ceiling of the Great Hall. It was chilly, and the wind was forceful. Ginny could hear her teeth chattering as they walked, neither feeling like they needed to talk.

Ginny had been the last person to arrive, and the sky above the pitch was filled with red and gold blurs and the Quidditch team played around. Demelza rolled her eyes and tutted.

"You'd better get changed," she said, and Ginny nodded, turning towards the changing rooms. She heard a shrill whistle, and then Demelza shouting.

She changed into her Quidditch robes as quickly as she could, and when she returned, Demelza was in the middle of what Ginny assumed was the end of a passionate speech.

"And that's why Slytherin are going down!"

She stopped for applause, but none came. Demelza coughed awkwardly, and turned around, catching sight of Ginny.

"Finally," she muttered, reaching down to the case at her feet. She opened the lid, and threw her the Quaffle. Ginny caught it. Demelza nodded, impressed. "You may have some potential, Weasley."

"Thank you?" Ginny replied unsurely. She knew that she had potential and didn't need Demelza to recognise it - just because Demelza was the captain of the team didn't mean that she was her superior.

Demelza glanced at the five people in front of her, and then back at Ginny. "Actually," she began, holding her hands out. "Pass the Quaffle back. I have a better idea."

Ginny shrugged, and with intense force, threw the Quaffle. It bounced off of Demelza's hands. Demelza flushed red, and glowered at Ginny. She picked the scarlet ball up off the grass where it had landed and dropped it back into the case.

"Go and stand with the others," she said, dryly. Ginny shrugged again and joined the rest of the team. She recognised some of the faces, others she didn't, even though she knew she should. She was stood between two young men whom had joined the team last year, before everything had been cancelled. One of them had sandy hair and a freckled face. He had a frustrated look on his open face, and was rolling his eyes as Demelza closed the lid on the balls. The other had brown hair, and a pale, almost sickly complexion. His name was on the tip of her tongue. Adrian something or other. He was gripping tightly onto a lightly battered Nimbus 2002, and was looking up at the deep blue sky, watching as the grey clouds began to form.

"Looks like it's going to rain," he muttered to the frizzy haired boy stood on his other side.

"Really?" he asked sarcastically. Adrian folded his arms across his chest and turned back to Demelza.

She coughed, attracting everyone's attention. She placed her hands on her hips, and looked up and down the pitch.

"I want you to run," she said. "I want you all to do two laps to start with. We'll go from there."

A collective moan rang out, which was silenced by a shrill whistle.

"Three," she said calmly. Nobody dared moan, and they started to jog. Demelza stood to the side, the hand that held the whistle poised close to her lips.

As soon as they were out of Demelza's range of hearing, the team began unanimously complaining.

"We're a Quidditch Team!" Jimmy Peakes, who was at the front of the group, said in outrage. "We should be flying, not running."

"I would have to agree," a tall, black haired girl said, puffing slightly. She took short breaths and was lagging behind the group. Ginny remembered her as Vicky Frobisher - the one who chose the Charms club over Quidditch when Harry had been the captain.

"Why isn't Demelza running?" Adrian asked, glancing back at their captain. Demelza had sat down on top of the case that contained the Quidditch balls and was watching her team.

"Probably because she's Captain," Ginny said through gritted teeth. Her sides were beginning to hurt, and she began to regret eating so fast earlier on in the evening.

The six players jogged around the rest of the pitch in silence, and by their second lap, had broken up. While Vicky kept to a slow pace, Ginny pushed herself to keep up with the rest of the team. Jimmy, Adrian and Noah were at least a quarter of the pitch in front of her, and she knew that she couldn't catch up to them. Ritchie Coote, however, was keeping a steady pace, so Ginny strived to run beside him.

"You're Ginny Weasley," Ritchie stated when he realised that Ginny was next to him.

"Yes," Ginny said. She looked down at their feet and tried to match his footing. When he put down his left foot, she put down hers. When they were in rhythm, she looked up at him, watching his frizzy hair bouncing up and down. She let out a grin. "And you're Ritchie Coote."

"You remember me?" Ritchie asked in surprise.

"Of course I do," Ginny replied. "You helped us win the Quidditch Cup a couple of years ago…"

"Oh yeah! That was fun!"

Ginny laughed. She tried not to focus too hard on her breathing, which was becoming short. She looked ahead. One lap to go.

"So did you have a good holiday?" Ritchie asked, continuing the conversation. He noticed that Ginny was slowing down, and slowed down with her.

"It was alright," Ginny said. "How about you?"

"Yeah, it was alright too," Ritchie said, shrugging. "My little brother and I just helped my mum around the house, and Jimmy came over for some Quidditch training…"

"I bet you guys ended up messing about instead of actually training," Ginny smiled.

Ritchie's face split into a wide grin, "Messing about is what we're good at."

"I don't doubt that," Ginny said, still smiling. "I mostly spent the holiday with Harry."

"Oh yeah? How is he?"

"Harry's good," Ginny said. "Thank you for asking."

"He was always nice to me," Ritchie said.

"By nice, you mean that he gave you a position on the team?" Ginny teased.

Ritchie ran a few paces before admitting, "Yes."

Ginny laughed, "I was only kidding. Harry spoke very highly of you."

"You guys talked about me when I wasn't there?" Ritchie faced Ginny, a look of faux outrage had appeared on his face.

Ginny laughed, "Only good things."

They were three quarters through their third lap. Ginny slowed down even more.

"Come on, Weasley!" Ritchie began motivating her. Ginny pushed herself harder.

When they finally reached Demelza, she was leaning back casually on the case, her lips pursed. Adrian was sitting on the ground, stretching his legs and talking to Jimmy, who still seemed to have a lot of energy. Noah Caldwell, the sandy-haired man, sat cross-legged next to Adrian. He seemed to be taking in deep breaths.

"Take a seat, you two," Demelza ordered.

Ginny rolled her eyes, but was way too exhausted to talk back. She collapsed next to Noah and lay down on the ground, looking up at the sky. It was darker now, and the clouds were beginning to build up in dark clumps.

By the time Vicky joined them, it had begun to drizzle. This didn't faze Demelza. In fact, Ginny thought that it motivated her more. She made them all get on their brooms and fly around the pitch a couple of times. They then practiced passing and throwing the Quaffle to each other. It was only when the rain got heavier and it got too dark to see that Demelza told them all that practice was over.

Ginny let out a sigh of relief, and stopped herself from cheering. She felt a strong hand pat her on the shoulder. It was Ritchie.

"I'll walk you back," he said, his voice filled with confidence.

"You don't need to," Ginny replied. A thunderclap filled the air, followed by a bolt of lightning. Ginny brushed her wet hair from her face. Ritchie grinned, and Ginny laughed. "If you insist," she replied, finally.

She walked towards the change room and showered briefly. The warm water made her forget about Demelza. She dried herself off and changed back into her clothes.

When she left the changing room, Ritchie was stood in the rain, his robe soaked through.

"Ritchie," Ginny began, jogging over to him as fast as her body would let her. "You shouldn't have waited out in the rain."

He shrugged. "I was going to get wet anyway," he began as they began to walk back towards the castle. "I thought, why not start now. And then I wouldn't be so cold."

"Did it work?"

"I'm freezing."

"Smart move, Coote."

Their bodies would not let them move fast. The laps had taken all their strength, and as a result their once dry clothes had soaked through. Ginny had never felt more uncomfortable.

"What are your plans for tomorrow?" he asked casually. They were close to the main doors. Any minute now Filch would be bolting them shut. They made a dash for them, slipping in as the old man arrived, cat in arms.

"Bed," he snapped at them. Ginny nodded.

"Classes, classes and classes," she said. She looked behind her, and watched as her robes created a path of water behind her. "I'd like to fit in some eating, and maybe some letter-writing."

"Sounds…"

"Typical?"

"Quite."

"I'm just a typical girl," Ginny muttered. They walked up some stairs. There were chips in it, and Ginny remembered that this was where an intense battle had played out. She shuddered.

Ritchie noticed this. "Are you alright?" he asked. Ginny nodded.

"Just cold," she replied. In the background, she could hear Filch arguing with Demelza, her loud voice carrying.

"I'm the captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team!" she shouted at him.

Ginny and Ritchie laughed.

"Serves her right," she said to him. The staircase they were on began to move, and Ginny gripped the railing tightly. In all her years at Hogwarts, it was the moving staircases that always took her by surprise.

"These things are such an inconvenience," Ritchie said as the noise of stone hitting against stone filled the room. They stood still, waiting for it to move back in the direction they wanted to go.

"Who thought they'd be a good idea?" Ginny mused. She released her grip just as the stairs began to move again. She jumped, and gripped the railing once more.

"Somebody with a sick imagination," replied Ritchie.

The stairs connected, and they continued their journey. A commotion could be heard from one of the classrooms they passed. It was Peeves. He was writing a myriad of swear words across the blackboard.

"Good night, Peeves," Ginny called out. The poltergeist dropped the chalk he was holding and came out into the corridor.

"I trust your brother is well?" he enquired. Peeves had always had the utmost respect for Fred and George.

"As well as can be expected," she replied. She glanced back in through the window of the Charms classroom. "I don't think Professor Flitwick will be impressed with that?"

Peeves cackled. "You really think so?"

Ginny tutted.

"All those misspelled words," she said, shaking her head. Peeves rushed back into the classroom through the stone wall.

Ritchie nodded, impressed.

"Normally he only leaves me alone when I threaten to get the Baron," he said.

"Peeves and I have an understanding," she replied.

Soon they were at the Gryffindor Common Room. It was brimming with life. The fire was bright, and warm. Hermione was sat in a plush armchair close to it, a book in front of her. Ginny did not recognise the title. The cover was of a grotesque looking creature crouching, as if it were scared.

"Evening," Ginny said, standing in front of the flame. Ritchie joined her.

"Hi," Hermione said, not looking up from her book. "How was training?"

Ginny let out a long sigh. "Pointless. Painful. Strange."

"Wet," Ritchie interjected. This new voice caused Hermione to look up. She smiled at him.

"I'm Hermione," she said. "Hermione Granger."

Ritchie laughed. "I know who you are," he said, warmly.

"I'm afraid I don't know you," Hermione replied, genuinely embarrassed.

Ritchie smiled again. "I'm in your potions class," he said, and Hermione nodded. She did recognise him now.

Ginny yawned. She was surprised to find that she was tired. She said good night, and then headed up to bed. She changed out of her wet clothing, and then allowed herself to fall down onto her bed, every fibre of her body was aching. Thoughts of the dessert she had missed filled her mind as she dozed, and thoughts of that delectable looking chocolate cake flashed into her mind as she fell asleep.

* * *

**Disclaimer:** **This story is based off the brilliant works of the wonderful J.K. Rowling. What you recognise belongs to her, what you don't, belongs to us. I forgot to do a disclaimer for the first chapter, but we mentioned a few Starkid references, which we do not own. **

* * *

**What to expect next chapter:  
**- Ginny continues life at Hogwarts, attending her classes and Quidditch training.

* * *

**SHOUTOUT **to my good friend: **misspotter94**. She's a fabulous writer and her stories are amazing. So please, search for: **Wanting What You Can't Have**, and its sequel: **Getting What You Deserve**, and delve into the world of Scorpius Malfoy and Lily Potter.

* * *

_**A/N:** Again, I'd like to emphasise that this is a collaborative story._

_You may have noticed that Hermione's been a little bitchy lately, and you may be wondering why. Well, we believe she's got PTSD, which is understandable, considering the war had only ended a few months ago._

**What did you think of Professor Snibsob?** _Let us know in a review!_

_Thank you for reading!_


	3. Emerald and Mauve

**Chapter Three: Emerald and Mauve**

Ginny's first week back at Hogwarts passed in a blur. She felt like she hardly had time to enjoy the day when the next had begun creeping up on her. Partly to blame was Demelza's new Quidditch training schedule, which saw the team do fitness exercises every morning before classes, and every night after classes. The rest of the blame, Ginny decided, was her classes. She didn't realise that there was so much work involved in the seventh-year, and that was not including homework. With both Quidditch training and homework, Ginny went to bed late each night exhausted, only to wake up early the next morning for more training. She hoped that the first match against Slytherin was going to be worth it. Demelza was overworking them.

Ginny stirred as she felt someone nudge her. She lifted her head off her arms groggily and looked around the room. Professor Snibsob stood in the front of the classroom, wearing robes of sky blue. Luna and Hermione were sitting on either side of her. Hermione was watching the professor intently, and Luna was nudging her arm with her elbow.

"I'm awake," Ginny said. Luna moved her elbow back onto her side of the table. "What's he talking about?"

"Patronuses," Luna replied.

"Still?" Ginny frowned. They had been talking about Patronuses for the past week. Ginny thought that they would have exhausted the topic by now, but apparently, she was wrong.

"Yep," Luna said. She shrugged and opened her Defence Against the Dark Arts textbook to the page that was bookmarked with an issue of The Quibbler. She hid the Quibbler in the textbook and began reading. Ginny shook her head at her friend and turned to Professor Snibsob.

"I know some of you are adamant that the Dementors are gone and that learning the Patronus Charm is unnecessary," he was saying. "I can neither confirm nor deny that."

Hermione shot her hand up into the air. Professor Snibsob seemed not to notice.

He continued, "Now, some of you may think that the Patronus Charm is only effective against a Dementor, but it is useful for something else. Does anyone know what?"

"Communication," Hermione blurted out before she could stop herself. She covered her mouth with her hand. The stony-faced Slytherin girl snickered.

"That's right, Miss Granger," Snibsob said, nodding. "A Patronus can be used to send a message."

Ginny, along with many of her classmates, sat up straighter in their seats, paying Professor Snibsob more attention. Though Harry had taught Dumbledore's Army how to cast a Patronus Charm, he never taught them how to communicate with them. Ginny was very interested. Luna continued to secretly read The Quibbler.

"I thought that would get your attention," he said, pulling out his wand. "I trust we can all cast a Patronus by now?"

There were a few uneasy nods. Some of the Slytherin students at the back of the classroom shook their heads.

"Never mind, you'll learn," he said to them encouragingly. He looked at the wand in his hand, and then placed it back in the pocket of his robe. "Won't be needing that. Don't know why I got it out in the first place."

He turned to the blackboard and began to write notes. The excited air that had filled the room had deflated. Ginny dipped her quill into the well and began to copy down what Snibsob was writing. It was dry and boring, but she knew it would come in useful around exam times. The written paper would be the hardest thing for her. She was so practical minded.

"When I create a Patronus," Snibsob began, not turning away from his writing. "I think of the last time my family was together."

There was silence, the chalk hitting the board sounded louder than it should.

"What about you?" he continued. "Do any of you feel free to share? Miss Granger, perhaps?"

Hermione had thrown her hand into the air the minute he had asked.

"You're learning," Hermione said, impressed. "I can't pinpoint what it is. It's my parents, my friends. Just the feeling of being surrounded by the ones you love. That's the memory I use, anyway, if you get what I mean."

"Perfectly," Snibsob said, crossing a 't' with such flourish it began to look like a 'j'. "Would anybody else like to share?"

Nobody replied. Snibsob turned back to face the class, and looked at the faces of his students. He noticed Luna had her textbook open in front of her.

"What about you, Miss Lovegood?"

"The moment I find a Crumple-Horned Snorkack," she said in a dreamy tone. A few titters rang out. Hermione rolled her eyes, and Snibsob looked at her, confused.

"Oh," he said, "That's… good."

He once again looked around the room, but soon his eyes were back on Ginny.

"I might as well complete the set," he said. "Miss Weasley, do you feel like sharing?"

Before Ginny could answer, a sound rang out. Class was over. Ginny let out a sigh of relief.

"Very well," he said to the sound. "Class dismissed. Do some reading or something before tomorrow."

The class began pushing out of the small room. It was lunch time. Ginny had been looking forward to that all day. She had overslept and missed breakfast that morning. She was feeling lightheaded.

The staircase was packed full of students. One of them seemed to have stopped in the middle of a journey. Ginny rolled her eyes. Just what she needed.

They were on the third floor. It was beginning to become packed, with those from the above floors coming to a stop on the landing, needing to access the staircase that would take them back to the Great Hall.

"Those staircases will cause somebody a mischief."

The voice came from behind her. It was deep, smooth and tinged with frustration. Ginny smiled. It was Ritchie.

"You ready for training tonight?" she asked him. He jumped before noticing the shock of red hair right in front of him.

"I don't think my body can handle it," he admitted. There was a cheer. The staircase began to move again. There was a mad rush as people pushed onto it before it moved again. Ginny found herself waiting with Hermione, Luna and Ritchie.

"You should pull a sickie," Ginny told him. "I'll cover for you."

"Nah," Ritchie shook his head. "We're in this together. If you suffer, I have to suffer too."

Ginny grinned, "Thanks."

"What did you just have, Ritchie?" Luna asked as they were finally able to break away from the crowd.

Ritchie was surprised that Luna knew who he was, and was talking to him. To his knowledge, they had never had a conversation before.

He gave a small cough, and replied, "I didn't have anything."

"So what did you do?"

Ritchie shrugged, "Slept."

Ginny laughed. It seemed like the entire Gryffindor Quidditch Team didn't take free time for granted anymore - they used it to sleep. Ginny had spotted Vicky Frobisher asleep in the library earlier that day.

"Don't you have homework?" Hermione looked outraged.

"Probably," Ritchie shrugged.

"So why didn't you do it instead of sleeping?"

"Because sleep is precious," Ginny interrupted them before it turned into an argument. She had noticed that Hermione had been really bad-tempered lately. She wondered why.

* * *

"FROBISHER," Demelza yelled. "IF YOU LET IN ANOTHER QUAFFLE, I WILL REPLACE YOU."

Vicky flushed red and was about to apologise when Demelza cut her off.

"Don't apologise. It's a sign of weakness," Demelza picked up the Quaffle that Vicky had brought over.

"Where did she learn that?" Adrian Mullins muttered.

"Is there something that you'd like to share, Mullins?" Demelza rounded on him.

"No," he said clearly before adding in an undertone, "Your Highness."

Noah Caldwell and Jimmy Peakes snickered before hastily rearranging their expressions.

"Okay," Demelza said. She took a deep breath. Ginny exchanged a glance with Ritchie. "If you're all going to talk behind my back and apologise for your poor performance, which by the way is completely unacceptable, then I don't want you here."

She looked around at her team, who were huddled in a close circle. Demelza had called a timeout on their training.

"Alright, this is what I want you to do," Demelza's face seemed to have softened. "Peakes, Coote, collect all the cones."

They had used cones as an agility-based drill. Demelza had said it was something Muggles did when playing their sport.

"Frobisher," Demelza turned to the pale girl standing opposite her. She threw the Quaffle to her. Vicky caught it. "Put that and the case away."

Demelza turned to Ginny, Noah and Adrian.

"You three," she addressed them. "Follow me."

Demelza led them back into the changing rooms and told them to make themselves comfortable. She then left the room without another word. Noah watched her leave.

"I'm unsure if I have a good feeling about this, or a bad one," he admitted. He ran a hand through his sandy hair.

"Hey, look on the bright side," Ginny said. She was currently sitting on a bench in the corner of the room. "Training was cut short."

"Thank wizard god," Adrian closed his eyes. "This past week has been a nightmare."

"I fell asleep in History of Magic," Noah told them.

"Everyone falls asleep in History of Magic," Ginny chuckled, making Adrian laugh as well.

Vicky entered the room looking exhausted. She sat next to Ginny leaning her head against the wall. A couple of seconds later, Jimmy and Ritchie came into the room carrying a stack of cones each. They deposited them in the corner by the door and sat down as well. They sat in silence waiting for Demelza's return.

When she did return, she was holding a pile of towels. When everyone in the room gave her a questioning look, she explained, "We were running out."

Adrian frowned at her. Jimmy narrowed his eyes. What was going on? Why was Demelza being so nice?

"Okay, okay, you don't all have to give me weird looks," Demelza put the towels down on the bench next to Ritchie before pulling up a chair to sit opposite them. "I can be nice."

Nobody responded to her statement.

"I just wanted to call you in here to tell you that training is over," Demelza pulled out her hair-tie, letting her long reddish-brown hair down. "I have one request though."

A few sighs were emitted.

"Go to bed early tonight," Demelza said. "Please."

Ginny gave Demelza a look of surprise. She wasn't the only one.

"And," Demelza continued. "There won't be any training tomorrow."

"Why?" Jimmy asked. Noah, who was sitting next to him, nudged him in the ribs to discourage him from this line of conversation.

"Because I don't want to train with a group of people who have bad attitudes," Demelza answered.

Ginny shrugged. She supposed that was fair enough.

"So rest up," Demelza said. "And I will see you early on Friday morning."

They took this as a dismissal and began to gather their belongings before heading to the showers.

As Ginny stood under the hot water streaming down from above, she thought about what had happened that day. They had only trained for an hour instead of the five that Demelza usually made them do. Demelza had really surprised Ginny that evening. The team was close to mutiny, and Demelza took care of the situation. She gave them what they wanted, while keeping them in line. Ginny had to give Demelza credit for thinking of such a brilliant plan. Ginny decided that she had been too quick to judge her captain. Maybe Demelza did know what she was doing after all. Maybe, with Demelza's guidance, they would win.

* * *

Ginny had gotten the best nights sleep she'd had since Demelza had enforced the training schedule. She awoke feeling ready and willing. Today she would learn, she would not fall asleep in class. She would take notes, and do the reading she needed to do.

Of course this feeling passed as soon as it had arrived. All Ginny wanted to do was sit in the common room and relax. But she knew that it was impossible.

She pulled on her robes, and went down to the Great Hall. Hermione and Luna were sat close to the long, staff table. There was a blonde girl wearing Ravenclaw robes sat next to Hermione. Ginny felt like she recognised her. They'd probably started Hogwarts at the same time.

As Ginny approached the table she realised that the blonde girl was wearing a SPEW badge. She rose from her seat just as Ginny sat down.

"Thanks, Susannah," Hermione said, handing her a small, brown box. Ginny had a feeling it was filled to the brim with SPEW badges.

Susannah left without saying another word, and Ginny watched as she left the Hall excitedly.

"Good morning," Ginny said, placing a few slices of toast on the plate in front of her. Hermione nodded in acknowledgement as she wrote Susannah's name and details down on a sheet of parchment.

Ginny looked across at Luna. She was staring across the room as if she was lost in thought. Ginny followed her gaze. Her eyes landed on a fair haired young man. A camera was sat on the table in front of him. He looked solemn, as if he was on the verge of tears. Ginny looked at the seat next to him. It was empty. She was almost expecting to see Colin Creevey.

But alas, it was not to be. Dennis Creevey was sat alone at the picnic table, the Muggle camera his only companion. A copy of the Daily Prophet was open in front of him, and he was staring at it, not reading.

"It must be hard for Muggles to comprehend his loss," Luna said suddenly. Ginny looked confused, and then remembered. Colin and Dennis were Muggle-Born. It was strange that two siblings born from non-magical parents could both have magic, but Ginny had learnt long ago that it was best not to question the logic of anything in the wizarding world. It lived by its own rules.

"What is there to understand?" Ginny asked. "Death by magic is just the same as death by gun. It's all senseless."

Hermione continued to scratch away at the parchment. Ginny looked down at it. It was a list of names, alongside their house. At the top were the names of Harry, Ron and Hermione. It was the SPEW membership list. Ginny prided herself that she had never joined. She agreed with the principles of the thing. If only it had a better name…

"Should I go over and speak to him?" Luna asked, and Ginny returned her attention to her other friend. Her chin was resting on her hand, and she was watching as people passed by Dennis, not even bothering to give him a second look.

"Did you know him?"

"I spoke to him once," admitted Luna. "But look at him. He needs somebody to talk to."

"Do what you feel is right," Ginny said, herself wondering if it would be right to go over and give him a shoulder to cry on. She'd never liked Colin, personally. He was hyperactive and nosey, but she felt like she knew how Dennis was feeling. She'd lost a brother, but she had a family who understood what had happened. Dennis had Muggles who were clueless.

Before Ginny could decide, the Great Hall filled with owls. Her eyes darted from Dennis to the ceiling. It was bright and sunny. Ginny smiled. She was over the rain, it was terrible weather. She looked around, seeing owls of all shapes and sizes. A large tawny owl swooped down and landed on the shoulder of a Hufflepuff boy, who jumped in shock. A barn owl dropped a rather large parcel into the cereal of an unsuspecting Slytherin, splattering her with milk. And then she saw Pig. He was struggling with the weight of the letters he was carrying. Yet he continued to dart from owl to owl, always intrigued to encounter a new creature.

Pig reached the table where Ginny was sitting and dropped lightly onto the table. Ginny scratched the little bird's head and untied the twine that held the letters. Pig cooed affectionately, and nipped lovingly at Ginny's fingers. He sat next to her for a moment, and then picked up the piece of toast Ginny had been eating and flew away.

Ginny laughed, and then looked down at the letters. There were four or five. The first letter was in a heavy, yellow envelope, and in emerald green ink her name was written. It was Harry's handwriting. Without looking at the other letters she tore it open and pulled out the parchment inside.

"_Ginny_," the letter began. "_It feels so strange to be here. I'm missing you, and missing Hogwarts. I wish I could be near you both. Life's strange. I've just been through some Auror training, and I'll tell you what, I have even more respect for poor Tonks than I've ever had before, and that's saying something. I trust you're well, and are settling in as well as you can? I'm still waiting for the toilet seat you promised me. Seriously, it'd come in handy around here. I hear Demelza gained captainship. Just between you and me, I think you're the better player. Good luck training, and I'm sure you'll have an easy victory over Slytherin. What else can I say? Oh! Teddy stood up without holding onto anything! Sure, he fell almost as soon as he was up, but it's a milestone moment, don't you agree? I can't wait until I next see you. It's been hard not being around you. Please do your best, and don't worry about any of us. We're all doing fine._

_Love, Harry._"

Ginny felt tears well up as she read over the letter. She didn't realise how much she had missed Harry. These next few months would be hard. She wanted to be near him.

She folded the letter over and placed it into the pocket of her robes. The other letters were from her mother, Fleur, Neville, and strangely Andromeda Tonks, probably relating the same information Harry had told her about.

She'd spent much time with Andromeda and Teddy over the break. Harry was determined to be an active presence in the child's life. He told stories of Tonks's bravery, and Lupin's intelligence, and how they lived life to the fullest and sacrificed it all for a safer world. Andromeda would always leave the room at this point, and Ginny would go with her. She couldn't imagine how she felt, living in a house so filled with the memories of a now gone husband and daughter.

She was drawn back to the present by a nudge. She looked up from the envelopes and noticed a letter being held out to her. It was Hermione. The letter was in almost illegible handwriting which Ginny recognised in an instant to be that of her brother.

"What does that last paragraph say?" she asked. Ginny grabbed the letter and deciphered the scrawl. It was harder than it looked.

"It says," began Ginny, her voice filled with uncertainty. "I _think_ it says," she corrected herself. "Missing you loads, but the lack of homework is brilliant. Freedom's great. And then it says something about a chicken. I'm not sure."

Hermione snatched the letter back and read over the paragraph again. She looked up. "It says nothing about a chicken," she said, and Ginny grinned. Hermione scowled at her friend, and then laughed. She placed the letter back in the envelope and saw Ginny's unopened mail lying in front of her.

"Somebody's popular," she said, and Ginny shrugged.

"What can you do?" she asked, trying not to sound pleased that she had so many people who cared about her. Especially when across the hall a young man was sat without anyone to support him.

Ginny looked over at Luna and saw she was reading a new edition of the Quibbler, the plastic wrapping it had come in lying discarded next to her plate of toast. On the cover was a picture of something Ginny didn't recognise. Printed in white, blocky letters over the picture were the words 'The Dolus', which Ginny took to be a new breed of magical creature that Xenophilius or one of his writers had "discovered".

The crowd in the Hall began to dissipate. It was only then when Ginny realised the time. She scoffed the rest of her toast and rose from her seat.

"Where are you going?" Hermione asked, taking a leisurely sip of pumpkin juice. Ginny looked over at the door. It was time for class. She was shocked Hermione was dawdling.

"Class," she said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Hermione laughed warmly.

"We have a free period," Hermione reminded her. Ginny stood in silence for a moment, gaping at the bushy haired girl.

"You mean I rushed for nothing?" she asked, confused. Hermione nodded, before laughing again.

"Sit down and eat some more toast," she said, and Ginny obeyed, upset that she could have slept in.

* * *

'_Dear Harry_,' Ginny began in cursive writing. She dropped her quill into the bottle of mauve ink that was on her bedside table and paused to admire her handwriting. It was loopy and looked really pretty, not like her usual scrawl. She lifted the parchment up so that it was at eye-level and looked at it. She was proud of herself - cursive writing did not come naturally to her. She shifted a little on the bed to make herself comfortable before placing the parchment back on top of the Standard Book of Spells: Grade 7, which was the thickest book she could find. She had blatantly ignored Hermione's name written in the bottom right hand corner of the book. Ginny picked up her quill again, careful not to drop the ink onto the bed sheets and began to write, as neatly as she could, in cursive writing…

'_Thank you for the letter. I too have missed you. I am well, and I trust you are the same. Classes are a bore, and Demelza can be thoroughly frustrating, but I do believe we're ready to win._'

Ginny raised her quill from the parchment, and found herself laughing. She had no idea why she was writing like that. It read like something she had once read in a novel. _Portkeys and Potions_. It was a romance writing in the 1800s. That wasn't the tone she had hoped to take on.

She placed the quill at the start of that section, but before crossing it out, she smiled. Harry would love it.

'_Sorry. Went a bit too far in that direction. I'm well. It's strange being back. It doesn't seem that long ago this was a house of death and destruction. Now it's brimming with life, and eager faces ready to learn. It's strange how life can move on, isn't it? The world around us keeps turning as we deal with what seems like the end of the world. I don't think I'll ever get used to that sensation, and to be honest, I don't think I'd ever want to._

_Hogwarts feels safer though. Probably because you're not here to cause any problems. I was going to say it was because of the change of headmasters, but let's be honest, whenever anything went awry, it was you, Ron and Hermione. I kind of miss the excitement. But we have a new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. He's providing enough excitement. He's the strangest man in the world. His robes are so colourful. He probably thinks he's the beacon of light in a world filled with darkness. He has an obsession with Patronuses too. That's all we've learnt about since we've been here. Not that I mind. It's just I'd like to learn about some stuff that's actually on the NEWTs. He likes to emphasise the mystery around him. He's a riddle wrapped in an enigma shrouded in mystery, to misquote one of the Muggle Prime Ministers. And he knows it too. He gives us hints at the end of every class about himself, and they're just the strangest. The latest one was just the word lilac. I mean, seriously? Hermione wasn't there. I should tell you this now, Harry. Hermione's been SPEWing all over the place. It's not pretty. The poor first years didn't know what hit them. She actually went to McGonagall to try and make it a school wide thing. She refused, of course. Student groups shall remain student groups. There's been enough change at Hogwarts as it is._

_Demelza's a bit… how can I put this nicely? Power mad? Yeah, power mad. She's training us like the Muggles train their sports folk. She had us running. RUNNING. Can you believe that? Every day, too. Until she had some kind of brain snap and suddenly turned nice. She's a strange one. I'll have to keep an eye on her. I don't trust people who can change their mood at a flick of a switch. It isn't genuine._

_I miss you loads Harry. You, and mum, and Fleur, and everyone. Even Ron. Wizard god knows why. But I've made new friends, and the old ones are still here. Everyone's so different though. It's like they've all grown twenty years. But that's probably to be expected in times of war. I saw Dennis Creevey this morning. He looked so depressed. It's to be expected, of course. Luna said something that made me think. She said how him being a Muggle would affect his grieving process. Not being able to talk about anything to Muggles. Wait! Idea time! Write to him Harry! Colin worshipped you! It'd make Dennis's day. He never gets any letters. A letter from Harry Potter himself would take his mind off Colin, at least for a few fleeting moments. Think about it, please?_

_Auror training would be beginning soon, wouldn't it? I hope I've remembered. Good luck, Harry, not that you'll need it. You're the bravest wizard I know._

_I have to go now, Hermione will be up soon, and I'll be distracted by her extolling the benefits of SPEW. What fun. Remember Harry, you're a brilliant wizard. Auror training will be a piece of cake. I believe in you._

_Love, kisses and everything in between,_

_Ginny.'_

She sighed, looking down at the letter which had devolved into her regular, almost indecipherable handwriting. She was proud of what she had written. She'd always had Harry around. They'd always communicated face to face. This new way was going to take some getting used to, but she was happy with her first attempt.

She folded the parchment into three, and placed it into a heavier parchment envelope. She wrote Harry's name clearly across it in the mauve ink she was so fond of, and placed it under her pillow. She hoped it wouldn't be too heavy for Pig.

* * *

**Disclaimer: We do not own Harry Potter. **

* * *

**What to expect next chapter:**  
- The Gryffindor vs Slytherin Quidditch match  
- There is an unexpected, but welcome, visitor  
- Ginny is faced with a difficult decision

* * *

Go read** misspotter94**'s story **Wanting What You Can't Have** and its sequel:** Getting What You Deserve** for some Scorpius/Lily drama!

* * *

_**A/N:** Just a few things:  
_

_You may have noticed that Ginny's been using Pig, even though he's Ron's owl. Just assume they share him, because Pig likes Ginny better because she treats him well._

_For those of you didn't pick up on why this chapter was called 'Emerald and Mauve', it's because Harry writes in emerald ink, and Ginny writes in mauve ink. Yes, this is a Hinny story._

_Thank you so much to everyone who has read, reviewed, followed and favourited Green and Gold. _


	4. Seven Hundred and Twenty

**Chapter Four: Seven Hundred and Twenty**

The week leading up to the first Quidditch match of the season was hectic. Not only were the teachers adding more homework to the already large pile, but Demelza had insisted on having extra training sessions as well. This left the team exhausted and also sleep-deprived, as they had to stay up half the night to complete the work that had been set for their various subjects. It also wiped all memories of Demelza being nice from their minds.

In keeping with tradition, the students from Gryffindor and Slytherin brought their rivalry into the open, and the Hospital Wing began to fill up with people who had been hit by jinxes and curses. Demelza, who had warned her team that she'd replace them if they were a victim of Slytherin hexing, was, ironically, hit by the Bat Bogey Hex. She had to be sent to the Hospital Wing, where she began badmouthing the Slytherins to anyone who would listen. Madam Pomfrey steered clear from her bed. When they found out about Demelza, the Gryffindor Quidditch Team visited her not out of concern, but out of obligation. They all knew that Ginny was responsible for Demelza's hospitalisation and were grateful - they would finally be able to have a good night's rest.

On the night before the match, Ginny was sitting in the Gryffindor Common Room attempting to finish off a Potions essay. The only thing that she had left to write was the conclusion, which she thought was absolutely pointless anyway because it was just a rewording of the introduction. She had let herself be distracted by the crackling fire and the excited buzz that filled the common room. Hermione was sitting in the armchair next to her, making more SPEW badges. Ginny presumed that Hermione would try to recruit more members at the Quidditch game. Ritchie was sitting in the far corner of the room reading a fat textbook. Although having never studied it, Ginny recognised it as an Ancient Runes translator because Hermione had lugged the book around with her all week.

Ginny turned back to her essay and read over her introduction again. It didn't make any sense to her and she resisted the urge to crumple the parchment up into a ball and throw it into the fire. She shook her head. She would have to try to fix it after the game. After rolling up her essay, Ginny put the lid back onto her ink bottle and shoved everything into her bag.

"I'm going to bed," she let Hermione know. Hermione didn't look up but nodded to show that she had heard her.

Ginny hoped that by going to bed early, she had set a good example for her teammates to do the same. Demelza was spending the night in the Hospital Wing again, even though Madam Pomfrey had told her that she was fine, so Ginny felt some sort of responsibility for the team. She knew Ritchie and Vicky would go up to bed early - they did on most nights - but she worried about Adrian, Noah and Jimmy. Sometimes when she'd had a bad day with homework, Ginny would sit in the common room until the wee hours of the morning. The three boys would keep her company for no reason at all. It was like they _wanted_ to be the last ones in the common room.

Yawning, Ginny reached her dormitory, threw her bag underneath the bed and pulled out her Quidditch robes in preparation for the next morning. She then got changed and hopped into bed. Lying there, staring up at the maroon curtains of her four-poster bed, Ginny began to feel quite nervous. Her stomach did flips and her heart pumped hard and fast. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying not to think about what was going to happen tomorrow. Though she knew nerves were only natural, Ginny tried to alter her thinking. She imagined them winning. She imagined feeling proud. She imagined soaring through the air on her broomstick. She imagined scoring goal after goal. She smiled to herself. That was better. Quidditch was _her _game. She could do it. All she needed to do was believe in herself and her teammates. She would make Gryffindor proud. She would make herself proud… and with that, she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Ginny awoke with a start the next morning. She'd just had the worst dream, although she was having trouble remembering it. It was slipping away as all dreams do. She remembered she was on the Quidditch field, being chased by someone. She couldn't remember who. Their silhouette did stick in her mind though. It was taller than anybody she'd seen before, and they body was bent into a grotesque shape. Even the thought of that made her shiver. She hoped this would not be a bad omen.

She climbed out of bed, and noticed that everybody else was still asleep. She looked across at the watch on her cabinet. It was five o'clock in the morning. She groaned, and allowed herself to fall back onto the soft mattress, but she could not sleep. She lay still for probably ten minutes, but found herself getting back up. Her mind was filled with Quidditch. She wanted to win. She needed to win. She needed to help the team.

She changed, and then left the dormitory and went to the common room. It was spotless. The House Elves had come in during the night. She noticed the ink stain she had left on one of the tables had disappeared.

The room was empty, and to Ginny, it felt huge. She'd never been awake this early before. Normally when she awoke, there were a few of the harder working kids, or the lazier ones, sometimes it was hard to tell, sat down reading, or writing, or doing stuff. Even Sir Nicholas could be found. Yet today it was empty. Ginny was left alone with her thoughts.

She was quietly confident that today would be an easy win. A friend of a friend of Demelza had told the team that she'd managed to catch a bit of the Slytherin training session, and that they were so uncoordinated that it would be a miracle if they could even fly together come the match.

Ginny wanted to go down to the Great Hall, but she knew it would be empty. Filch was probably waiting at the door to leap on any student out of bed. Instead, she sat down in her favourite chair and thought about the last Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson they'd had. It was a strange one. It wasn't loud, or filled with excitement. In fact, Snibsob had been almost sombre. He sat at his desk, his desk scarred with evidence of all the former professors that had come before him. There was a scorch mark from when Mad Eye Moody had demonstrated the Killing Curse. There were scratches from the time Gilderoy Lockhart had let untrained pixies loose in the classroom. There were even water stains from the time Professor Lupin dropped the fish tank he'd been carrying a Grindylow in. The tank had cracked, draining all the water from within. Harry had told her about this. Apparently it was quite amusing.

Snibsob began by talking about Patronuses, as usual. Ginny had trailed off halfway through his little speech, trying to work out if the plural to Patronus was 'patronuses' or 'patroni', and tuned back in to find him trying to make some kind of comparison between dreams and happy memories. It wasn't working.

And then all of a sudden he stopped talking, and a smile spread across his face. He dismissed the class, calling after them , "Cornwall", which had confused everyone.

Ginny decided it would be safe to venture down to the Great Hall now. Even if the food wasn't ready, the exercise would do her good. She hated sitting around doing nothing, especially on a day like today.

She walked down the even flights of stairs, pleased that none seemed to be in the mood to change position, and just as she had thought, Filch was patrolling the area in front of the main staircase. She rolled her eyes and walked past him. He made to come after her.

"Six o'clock," she said, tapping her watch, which clearly read 5:45. Without another word she walked through the doors to Hall. The ceiling was bright and cloudless. The perfect Quidditch weather. Plates had been set out on the small tables, as had bowls, and goblets began materialising out of thin air. Ginny was impressed. The Great Hall seemed even larger than ever as she stood by the door. She ventured to a table somewhere in the middle and sat down, leaning her elbows on the cold stone. Butterflies were beginning to form in her stomach. She felt like she could use some _Felix Felicis_. If only Harry hadn't used his on tedious things, she thought to herself sarcastically.

* * *

"Welcome to the first Quidditch match of the season!" the commentator, Suranne Prescott, a puffy faced, freckled Ravenclaw, said in an Irish lilt. The crowd erupted into loud cheers. "Today, we have GRYFFINDOR -" the Slytherin boos and jeers were drowned by the Gryffindor roars. "Verses...SLYTHERIN!" The boos and cheers seemed to drop for a second before reemerging on the opposite side of the pitch.

As Suranne called out the names of the Slytherin team, to the delight of the green and silver clad supporters, Ginny smoothed her scarlet robes, removing any crinkles, with her right hand. She took a deep breath and gripped her broom tight. Any second now, her name would be called. Any second now, she would fly out onto the pitch.

Demelza's name was called out first, of course. She flew out, and the crowd broke into even more cheers, and even more jeers. Ginny watched as one by one her teammates flew out onto the pitch. Soon she would hear her name called out, and it would be up to her to leave a good impression on the crowd. She couldn't trip up, lest they be seen as a joke for the rest of the season.

"Peakes!"

Jimmy flew out with an air of confidence. Once again cheers, and boos, and clapping. Ginny closed her eyes tightly, gripping so tightly onto the handle of her broom that her knuckles turned white.

"And Weasley!"

Without thinking, Ginny took off, bursting into the sunlight. The people in the stands were no more than blurs of red and green. She couldn't hear them over the sound of her thoughts. She came to a stop next to Jimmy, and looked around. The butterflies evaporated as suddenly as they came. She was home.

The breeze was soft, and the sun was high in the sky. You couldn't have asked for a better day for Quidditch. The cheering from the stands was almost deafening, but it would soon be drowned out by the sound of the wind as it brushed over their bodies. Madam Hooch was stood on the grass beneath them, Demelza and the Slytherin captain, whom Ginny didn't recognise, were stood either side. They shook hands reluctantly, and as soon as the grip was loosened, Demelza pulled away as quickly as possible.

"You all know the rules," Madam Hooch barked, giving Demelza and the Slytherin captain a chance to get back onto their brooms. "And you know that if you break them, a penalty will be given to the other team."

A few people nodded. Ginny kept her eye on the Quaffle in Madam Hooch's hands. She wanted to be the first one to grab it.

"Three...two..." Madam Hooch counted down, before blowing on her whistle and throwing the Quaffle up into the air. The game had begun!

Ginny accelerated quickly, aiming for the Quaffle. Her finger touched it, but before she could get a hold of it, it was snatched by one of the Slytherin Chasers - Warrington. Ginny heard Demelza swear before zooming away from the centre. Warrington headed for Vicky, who was hovering by the Gryffindor goalposts. Noah was on his tail the whole way there, and when Warrington aimed the Quaffle at one of the goals, Ginny swooped in and snatched the red ball back. She heard Ritchie whooping in the distance before the Gryffindor cheers took over their end of the pitch. Ginny bowed her head and leaned forward, directing her broom towards the Slytherin end. She ducked to avoid a Bludger before throwing the Quaffle to Demelza, who was waiting. Demelza caught it, spun around and came face to face with Saunders, another Slytherin Chaser. She was momentarily dazed.

"Oh," Demelza managed to say before the Quaffle was taken from her. Ginny frowned. The Slytherins really had it together this year.

As Saunders made his way to the far side of the pitch, Jimmy swung his bat and hit a Bludger in his direction. Panicking, Saunders sped up to avoid being hit, but dropped the Quaffle.

The Slytherin supporters groaned.

Noah dived and caught the Quaffle. He passed it to Ginny, who hadn't been paying attention. She had been watching Saunders zig-zagging away and found the spectacle thoroughly amusing. When the Quaffle came her way, she almost dropped it. Almost.

Securing the ball underneath her left arm, Ginny raced up the pitch and again passed to Demelza. Demelza threw the Quaffle into the right goalpost and -

"GRYFFINDOR SCORES!" Suranne yelled into the megaphone. "10 points to Gryffindor!"

The cheers of the red and gold clad supporters were almost deafening. Ginny looked around and saw Adrian Mullins circling the pitch, hoping to catch sight of the sneaky Golden Snitch.

"And it's Warrington in possession, speeding off towards the Gryffindor goals," Suranne continued to commentate.

Ginny and Noah exchanged glances before chasing him. Demelza stayed at the Slytherin end. Ritchie hit a Bludger towards Warrington, but it missed.

"Ooooooh," the Gryffindors cried out.

"Warrington aims and -"

The Gryffindor groans were muffled by the loud Slytherin cheering coming from the other end of the pitch.

"SLYTHERIN SCORES. Good try, Frobisher! It's 10 all now!"

Vicky threw the Quaffle to Ginny, who passed it back and forth with Noah until they got to Demelza's end. The Slytherin Chasers tried many times to intercept, but failed. The Slytherin Beaters were missing them by large margins, which made Ginny wonder if they were even trying at all.

"And Gryffindor Captain Demelza Robins is in possession. She passes it to Weasley who throws it to Caldwell. Saunders swoops, attempting to catch the Quaffle, but Weasley grabs it and...GRYFFINDOR SCORES! It's 20-10 to Gryffindor!"

Ginny was feeling over the moon! As she spun around to head back to other side of the pitch, she spotted the little gold ball flying about towards the bottom of the pitch. Where was Adrian? Ginny scanned the skies quickly and saw the Slytherin Chaser, Picard, looking up at the clouds. They were safe, for now.

"MULLINS!" she yelled at Adrian. He gave her a quizzical look before heading in the opposite direction. Ginny frowned and looked back down. The Snitch had gone. Demelza gave her a dark look before rushing after Noah, who had followed Warrington to the other side.

Ginny groaned, along with the rest of the Gryffindors, when Vicky let in another goal.

"20 ALL!" Suranne updated them on the score. "Caldwell in possession, with Saunders right behind him. Warrington is keeping Robins out of Caldwell's throwing range. The Beaters of both teams are circling, unsure if they should hit the Bludgers or not…"

Ginny shook herself out of spectator-mode and rushed to Noah, in an attempt to help him out, but she found herself barricaded by Beck, another Slytherin Chaser. Beck seemed to be copying Warrington in buddying up with a Gryffindor player to make playing defence easier. Unfortunately for him, Ginny had a few tricks up her sleeve.

Ginny couldn't see what was happening with the Quaffle because Beck was still blocking her, so she relied on Suranne's commentary.

"Ladies and gentlemen, what a sight we have here - the Chasers are not going anywhere!" Suranne laughed into the megaphone. "They're circling around, Saunders sticking to Caldwell, who still has the Quaffle, and Warrington keeping close to Robins. A little farther away, Weasley is being blocked by Beck. _This_ is how you play defence. The Beaters are too afraid to hit the Bludgers, but this is the perfect opportunity for the Seekers to look for the Golden Snitch. Remember, the score is even. It's anyone's game…"

The crowd held its breath in anticipation, waiting for something to happen. And then it did.

Ginny narrowed her eyes at Beck and feigned flying left. Beck moved to block her, but she got pass him by flying to the right. She was free! Noah, seeing this opportunity, threw the Quaffle towards her. It fell short, but Ginny pointed her broomstick downwards, diving after the ball. The crowd roared.

Ginny pulled out of her dive after catching the Quaffle a few metres off the ground. She sped towards the Slytherin goals, not bothering to look behind her. She imagined that Beck was trying his best to keep up, while Demelza and Noah were trying to get away from Warrington and Saunders. Ginny laughed, feeling the air rush by her. Harry would have been proud of that dive.

"Weasley approaches the Slytherin goals, but Brahms is ready. Weasley doesn't back down, she aims and SHE SCORES!" Suranne shouted.

"Yes!" Ginny punched the air, before putting both hands on the broom to steady herself.

Ginny turned around to face Noah and Demelza, who she assumed were flying behind her, with a huge grin on her face.

Noah gave her a thumbs up, while Demelza had a small smile playing on her lips.

"Good work, Weas-" she began before Suranne yelled, "WATCH OUT DEMELZA."

It all happened so quickly. The Bludger came out of nowhere and Ginny winced as she heard the dull thud. Demelza slipped off her broom almost gracefully and began falling to the ground.

"NOAH! THE QUAFFLE!" Ginny yelled before diving once again. Demelza was falling too fast though, and Ginny willed her broom to go faster. She reached out to try grab Demelza's hand. The crowd held its breath. Professor McGonagall stood up and pointed her wand to the falling girl. Ginny watched as Demelza slowed down, and waited until she was safely on the ground before going to join Noah tackle the three Slytherin Chasers.

Jimmy and Ritchie had both hit Bludgers towards Warrington and Beck with accurate aim, so Noah only had to chase down Saunders.

"As Weasley makes her way down the pitch towards the goals, Saunders is doing a fantastic job of avoiding Caldwell," Suranne said. Her voice was a little less energetic. Ginny remembered that she and Demelza were friends. "Caldwell avoids a Bludger, but loses Saunders. Saunders flies towards Frobisher and shoots and that was a good save by Frobisher! No goal!"

Ginny had finally caught up. So had Warrington and Beck. It was still three against two. As she flew the Quaffle to the other side of the pitch, Ginny flew higher to avoid a Bludger, thinking that if Adrian didn't catch that Snitch soon, this was going to be a really long game.

* * *

The sun had set a couple of hours ago behind the Gryffindor side of the Quidditch Pitch. The moon had come out, but was not strong enough to illuminate the whole field. It was instead lit up by the candles from the Great Hall, which were eerily floating around in the stands.

Professor McGonagall was still sat uncomfortably in the head teacher's chair in the hugest of boxes. Suranne had dozed off in the last time out and was now resting her head on McGonagall's bony shoulder. The headmistress coughed gently, and Suranne roused, looking down at her watch. It was half past ten in the evening. She yawned, and then picked up her megaphone.

Down on the field, both teams had lost members. Some through fatigue, others through injury. Adrian and Ginny had managed to hold out, and were hovering on the ground, waiting for the game to resume. Madam Hooch was stood in the middle of the field, a Quaffle in her hand. Ginny and Adrian took to the air. Slytherin's sole remaining player was Picard, the quick, fox faced Seeker. He looked as if he might fall off of his broom at any moment.

"Fingers crossed," thought Ginny. Her mind was foggy. She was tired. Lack of sleep and the physicality of the game had worn her down.

They were losing. The last time out was called by Picard when Warrington had managed to fling the Quaffle through the hoop and fall off his broom at the same time.

The stands were almost empty. Many had left hours ago. Hermione, who had a large pile of homework to do, felt conflicted before deciding to stay in the stands with nobody but Luna for company.

In fact, apart from Professor Slughorn, a beautiful, dark skinned woman that Ginny had never seen before (but somehow thought she recognised), Hermione, Luna, McGonagall and Suranne, the stalls were devoid of life. Ginny didn't mind. She didn't play Quidditch for the spectators. She played for herself.

To Madam Hooch's credit, she hid her boredom well when tossing the Quaffle into the air and blowing her whistle, knowing it was only Ginny left to catch it.

The plan was for Adrian to keep a lookout for the Snitch as Ginny positioned herself in front of the hoops and scored as many points as she could. They were a fifty points behind, so it wouldn't be too hard to catch up, but the sooner Adrian caught the Snitch, the sooner the game was over. Ginny couldn't believe that it had gone on for almost twelve hours already!

Ginny flew the Quaffle to the Slytherin end of the pitch. It was quiet. Almost peaceful. She glanced behind her. Adrian and Picard were circling the Gryffindor end of the pitch. Ginny let out a little sigh before throwing the Quaffle into a hoop. They were 40 points behind. She dived down to catch the Quaffle before repeating the same action.

Twenty-five minutes later, Ginny was still throwing the Quaffle into the hoops. Gryffindor were now up by five hundred and sixty points. As she dived to collect the Quaffle again, Ginny thought she noticed a little golden ball flying towards her. She blinked, thinking that perhaps she had imagined it. When she opened her eyes, it was still there. She looked for Adrian. He was still at the Gryffindor end of the pitch. Picard was following him around, his eyes half-open. Ginny tried to think of a way to get Adrian to notice the Snitch without alerting Picard, who had the faster broom.

Her brain hurt. She couldn't think of anything. She kept an eye on the Snitch while throwing the Quaffle into the hoop again. Five hundred and seventy points ahead. She tried to catch Adrian's eye and was successful in doing so. He gave her a puzzled look. Ginny made sure Picard had his back to her before pointing in the direction of the Snitch. Adrian's eyes widened and he nodded at her.

Ginny went to collect the Quaffle once more as Adrian sped towards the Golden Snitch. Ginny didn't even think Picard realised what was happening. She wouldn't be surprised if he had fallen asleep on his broom.

"Yes!" Adrian exclaimed. Ginny wanted to cry tears of happiness. Madam Hooch blew her whistle, signalling the end of the match.

"GRYFFINDOR WINS!" Suranne shouted into her megaphone, out of habit. The people sitting in the stands jumped at the loud noise. "Sorry," Suranne said. "Gryffindor wins by seven hundred and twenty points! Which is coincidentally how long the match went for, according to Professor McGonagall. Congratulations Gryffindor!"

Seven hundred and twenty points! Ginny felt so giddy that she almost forgot about being tired. As soon as Adrian reached the ground, with the Snitch clutched tightly in his hands, he lay down and let exhaustion wash over him. Ginny touched down and sat down next to him. She saw Jimmy Peakes lead the uninjured members of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team towards them.

Ginny couldn't concentrate on what Jimmy was saying. She was making an attempt to stay awake for the celebrations, but it was proving to be futile. She felt people pat her on the back, but didn't know who. She heard people talking, but she didn't know what they were talking about. She closed her eyes, lay down next to Adrian, and before she knew it, was fast asleep.

* * *

When Ginny awoke the next morning, the sun was peeking through the unopened curtains on the other side of the room. She raised her head a little and looked around. She was in the Hospital Wing. She supposed that playing Quidditch to the point of exhaustion was a good enough excuse to spend the night with Madam Pomfrey. She looked around again and spotted Demelza a couple of beds down from her. Further down the long room, she saw Warrington and Beck. They were both awake. Down the other end, Adrian was still sleeping, snoring slightly. Ginny lay back down and stared at the the ceiling.

She must have fallen asleep again because they next thing she knew, the sunlight coming through the still unopened curtains was tinged orange. Ginny sat up slowly, rubbed her eyes and looked around. The Slytherins were no longer there, Adrian was sitting up in bed reading a book, and Demelza lay on her side facing Madam Pomfrey's office. Ginny also noticed someone sitting in a chair by her bed. It was the dark-skinned woman that had been sitting with Slughorn at the match. Ginny assumed the woman had her eyes closed, and she didn't know whether she was asleep or just resting.

"Hi," Ginny said quietly. The woman didn't raise her head. "Um, excuse me?"

Ginny leant across and prodded the woman gently in the arm. The woman looked up, blinked a couple of times and gave Ginny a small smile. Ginny pulled her arm back and covered her face, feeling absolutely mortified. The woman sitting by her bed was Gwenog Jones. _The_ Gwenog Jones. And Ginny had just prodded _the_ Gwenog Jones in the arm.

"I'm so sorry," Ginny said through her hands. "I am so, so sorry."

Gwenog chuckled, "It's alright, Ginny."

It took Ginny a lot of strength not to squeal out loud in excitement in the presence of her role-model. _The_ Gwenog Jones knew _her_ name. She could hardly believe what was happening. She couldn't believe that Gwenog was sat next to her. She couldn't believe that Gwenog had watched her play Quidditch. She couldn't believe that Gwenog knew her name. She couldn't believe that she had just prodded the person she believed to be the greatest professional Quidditch player of all time. A million things raced through her mind. Ginny Weasley was, and she couldn't believe this either because she had a famous boyfriend after all, star-struck.

"You're probably wondering why I'm here," Gwenog said.

Ginny removed her hands from her face and nodded. _The_ Gwenog Jones. She still couldn't believe it. She looked even better in person. Her brown eyes were bright and full of life, her black hair looked soft, and it hung down to her shoulders. She looked quite young. Ginny couldn't remember, she was probably in her mid-thirties, and yet still looked twenty. She was sat up straight in the hard chair, and Ginny remembered the back injury she had suffered not long ago that had made her give up Quidditch.

"I want to offer you a position on the Holyhead Harpies Quidditch Team," Gwenog said.

Ginny felt her jaw drop. She stared at Gwenog, not sure if she was kidding or not, not sure if her ears were deceiving her or not. Gwenog's face showed no signs of deception, however. Instead, it looked almost hopeful. Ginny didn't know how to feel.

"Are...are you serious?" Ginny finally stammered. She had supported the Holyhead Harpies from a very young age. She even had a poster of Gwenog up on her wall back home at The Burrow. The Holyhead Harpies weren't the most successful team, but they were way better than the Chudley Cannons. When she was younger, Ginny had attended all the matches that she could when she was on holidays in the hopes of meeting her idols. She had even watched Gwenog play. And here she was, being offered a position on that very same team.

"Very serious," Gwenog said sincerely. "Ginny, you are an amazing player. Yesterday's match was incredible! I've never seen anything like it. You have so much talent."

Ginny blushed red with pride, but she tried to keep her cool - Gwenog had just praised and complimented her on her Quidditch skills - it wasn't a big deal. Ginny's insides, however, were having a little party to reflect the glee that she was currently feeling.

Gwenog didn't stop her praising and complimenting there though. She continued, "I noticed you had a sharp eye - you were the first to see the Snitch, and you spotted it again a few times. But it wasn't your Seeker skills that impressed me the most, though of course, they were very impressing. It was your Chasing skills that captured my attention. You've got accurate aim, and you're a quick thinker. Everything a Chaser needs to have and be. But you're more than that." Gwenog looked at Ginny, almost as if respectfully in awe, "I can't quite put my finger on it just yet, but you are more than that." Gwenog smiled. "When you tricked the other player into thinking you were going one way when you were in fact going the other...that was absolutely brilliant! I've only seen it pulled off twice in my life. Once by you, and once by Alexei Levski from the Bulgarian National Team."

"Thank you," Ginny said quietly. When Gwenog had been listing her qualities, Ginny had been thinking. Was she really that good at Quidditch? She hoped so. Did she possess the talent that Gwenog had described? Again, she hoped so. Was she good enough to join the Holyhead Harpies? Gwenog certainly thought so. And was she good enough to have a professional Quidditch career? Was she talented and skilled enough to make a living from playing Quidditch?

"I must warn you though," Gwenog interrupted Ginny's thoughts. "That my team is currently full. You'd be taking on the reserve, or substitute, position."

"Oh."

Gwenog must have seen Ginny's face fall because she added quickly, "But one of my girls' contract is nearly up, and if she chooses to leave, you'll definitely have a spot on the team."

"Oh," Ginny managed again. She didn't know what to say.

"As reserve, you'll get to train with the team and attend all matches. By the end of your first year, you'll know professional Quidditch inside out, and you'll know the Harpies inside out."

Ginny nodded, still unsure of what to say. She was offered a position on the Holyhead Harpies but as a reserve. Was that...good?

Gwenog continued, "You'll start straightaway though. We'll get you trained up before the next Quidditch season, which begins in February."

Ginny started to feel excited. This was a chance for her to experience the professional Quidditch world, straightaway. She didn't even have to take the dreaded NEWTs at the end of the year. Her brain told her that this was a good opportunity. Her heart sank at the prospect of leaving Hogwarts, leaving home. Ginny tried to shake herself out of it. In the end, it was worth it - wasn't it?

Gwenog was not affected by Ginny's silent contemplation. She continued, "I'm absolutely certain that the other teams will send scouts out during the year and you'll be asked to join another team after you graduate from Hogwarts, that's why I'm talking to you now. Horace says that you're a Holyhead Harpies fan."

Ginny let out a little laugh. She remembered the time she had found out the Professor Slughorn was in contact with Gwenog Jones and the Holyhead Harpies team. She had demanded details of how he knew them, which Slughorn had willingly provided.

Gwenog gave Ginny a bright smile, "You don't have to give me an answer straight away. Take some time and think about it. I understand it's a big decision."

Ginny nodded, thankful that she wasn't asked to make a decision right there and then.

"I'll be back next week to see you, okay?" Gwenog stood up and patted Ginny on the shoulder. "Take care, Ginny."

"Goodbye, Gwenog," Ginny called out to Gwenog's retreating back.

As soon as her idol left, Ginny let out a squeal of delight which earned her a look of disapproval from Madam Pomfrey, and a curious glance from Adrian. Demelza still had her back to her. Ginny covered her face with her hands again, feeling overwhelmed. It should be an easy decision, she thought. It should be easy to give up school for Quidditch. Could she do it though? Was she willing to become a Hogwarts drop-out?

And as Ginny sat in the Hospital Wing, hands covering her face, thinking about her future, only one answer came to her.

_Yes_.

* * *

**Disclaimer:**** All things HP belong to the wonderful Queen Rowling.**

* * *

**What to expect next chapter:**  
- There are some unexpected visitors.  
- Ginny thinks about the Holyhead Harpy offer.  
- More classes and Hogwarts.

* * *

_**A/N:** It's a little long this week. Apologies in advance._

_First off, I am so sorry for the late upload - I did say I would upload every Saturday, but it didn't happen. I was actually attending the #TwitterYuleBall2013. Did anyone else go?_

_Secondly, Andrew and I would like to wish you all a very **Merry Christmas**! Hope it's a magical one, and that Santa brings you lots of presents. If you don't celebrate Christmas: **Happy Holidays**!_

_Thirdly, we got some reviews from _guests_, which I feel I should address here since I can't exactly message them back.  
_**Guest #1:** This is Harry Potter fan fiction. Not The Vampire Diaries fan fiction. I have absolutely no clue how on earth you managed to review a TVD story on a HP story, but I found it absolutely hilarious, so thank you for the laugh.  
**Guest #2:** There are only three chapters (now four) because we like to pace ourselves. If we rush, the quality of the story will not be as good. We try to write the best that we can, and only when we are feeling creative enough to write. Forcing yourself to write is probably the worst thing a writer can do ~ Yes, Ginny is/was popular (depends how you look at it), but you can't deny that the war has changed that. She's been through a lot, she's lost a brother - she's going to want to surround herself with CLOSE friends and family until her grieving period has ended, which will be soon, hopefully. The loud, fun, humorous girl filled with mischief is still there, she's just taken a step back for the time being. As for her thoughts on the war and losses, we thought we did a pretty good job of conveying that, but apparently not. Don't worry, there will be more, but it would be awfully depressing if the whole story was about Ginny thinking about the war. As for Ginny flirting with Ritchie...we can't deny that they have chemistry, but as stated in the last chapter, this is a Hinny fic. Ginny and Harry have been separated for too long, so it'd be nice to have some Hinny time. Who knows? Maybe Ritchie and Ginny will have a thing later on? But we think Ginny is loyal to Harry at the time being, and that's where she'll stay. Thank you for the review though.  
**Guest #3 (Fred):** Your review made me giggle. Unfortunately, I think Ron is the type of guy to sit around being a sucker for Hermione. They will get a couple of scenes together in future chapters, and as I've told some of the reviewers before, their relationship is a bit rocky - understandably though, considering the circumstances in which they got together.

_Fourthly, a lot of you seem to hate dear old Professor Snibsob and you want him to be something more. Sure, we built him up to be some sort of a mystery, but really, come down to the nitty gritty, and he's pretty much irrelevant in this story. He's just a background character. Please don't get too wound up over him!_

_Fifthly, you may be wondering why Demelza is suffering from crazy mood wings - one). she's a girl; two). she's probably lost friends in the war too; three). she's probably under a lot of pressure from her captainship; four). she's probably finding it hard to cope with all the changes that she and Hogwarts have gone through._

_Sixthly (I told you this was long), thank you for all the reviews, follows, favourites and to all those who read this. We appreciate you all!_

**What did you think of the change in story-line? Will Ginny go through with her decision to join the Holyhead Harpies?** Let us know in a review :)

Again, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!


	5. The Visitors

**Chapter Five: The Visitors**

There was a loud crack outside of Hogwarts Castle, and Argus Filch jumped. He had been patrolling the gates, making sure Hogwarts was safe, and that no student was out of bed. He was disappointed that he hadn't caught one.

A plump, red-haired woman had appeared out of nowhere. Filch hated when they did that. It was almost as if they were rubbing his Squib-status in his face.

She began to march towards the gates, and Filch sprung to life, jumping in front of the gate, his bony arms folded across his chest.

"Stop," he called out in his shaky voice. He wasn't frightened. Not at all. Molly Weasley gave him the best death glare she could muster, and Filch faltered, moving aside and letting the woman in.

"Thank you," she said, her voice filled with determination.

Molly stormed through the double oak front doors, and headed up the marble staircase, away from the loud Great Hall. It was Monday morning, and Molly had just received the news that her youngest daughter was going to drop out of school to join a Quidditch team. She marched to the third floor where the stone gargoyle, which had been fixed after the war, waited for her to tell it the password.

"Exspectata," Molly said quickly as she approached. Minerva McGonagall had told her the password when she had summoned her to the school - it was Latin for 'welcome'. The gargoyle stepped aside to reveal a moving staircase. Molly made her way upstairs and knocked three times on the door before pushing it wide open and entering without waiting for so much as a 'come in'.

Ginny was sitting across from McGonagall. She spun around and watched her mother come in.

"Ah Molly -" McGonagall began to ask Molly to take a seat, but Molly interrupted her.

"GINEVRA WEASLEY! HOW DARE YOU THROW AWAY YOUR EDUCATION FOR SPORT?" Molly was furious. Her face was blotchy and red and she was swinging her handbag around. The image was terrifying.

Ginny remained sitting, giving the impression that she was not afraid of her mother.

McGonagall tried to intercept, "Technically, Molly, Ginny has not yet agreed to -"

"I HAVE TOLD YOU TIME AND TIME AGAIN THAT QUIDDITCH IS JUST A HOBBY. YOU NEED TO GET YOUR NEWTs!"

Ginny didn't say anything. She had found that the best way to deal with an angry Molly Weasley was to let her say what she wanted. If Ginny had spoken any sooner, she would have been told off for talking back.

"I suppose some average Quidditch player spotted you playing and put ideas into your head?" Molly finally lowered her voice and took a seat next to her daughter. "How dare they?"

Professor McGonagall thought that Molly had cooled down enough to listen, and began to explain, "Molly, Ginny has incredible talent on the Quidditch field -" but she was cut off yet again.

"INCREDIBLE TALENT OR NOT, SHE HAS TO COMPLETE HER SCHOOLING," Molly raised her voice. "I said that she could join the Gryffindor Quidditch Team as an extracurricular activity. Her studies come first."

Ginny rolled her eyes and began to mentally list the family members that had not completed their schooling: Fred...George...Ron...she would soon join them. Her mother's outburst had helped her to make up her mind. If they could go on to pursue their dream, then she could too.

"How are NEWTs going to help me build a Quidditch career?" Ginny asked.

McGonagall, who supported Ginny on her decision because she knew how hard it was to be offered an opportunity like this, nodded to support Ginny's question.

"Ginny," Molly looked at her daughter seriously. "You are not going to have a Quidditch career."

"Why not?" Ginny shot back. "Fred and George dropped out to start a joke shop. Ron's becoming an Auror. Why can't I do what I want to do too?"

Molly shook her head sadly, "I just want you to...no, I _need _you to finish your education Ginny."

"Why?"

"You don't know how hard it is to get a job without your NEWTs," Molly explained.

"I told you! I don't care about NEWTs, I want to play Quidditch!"

"Ginny," Molly gave her a disapproving look - she had to remind her daughter that they were sitting in front of the headmistress of Hogwarts.

There was a moment's pause before Professor McGonagall leaned forward in her chair and said, "If it makes any difference, Molly, your daughter was approached by the coach of the Holyhead Harpies: Gwenog Jones."

Molly looked momentarily impressed before she rearranged her face into a scowl and tutted, "Why couldn't she have waited until Ginny had finished with school?"

"She said that other teams would ask me to join them after I had finished with school," Ginny told her mother.

"Then why don't you wait until you get your NEWTs and then join them?" Molly raised an eyebrow at her daughter, as if that was the obvious solution to the problem.

"Because I want to join the Holyhead Harpies," Ginny said.

Molly sighed and turned to McGonagall, "What do you think?"

"I think that this is a fantastic opportunity for Ginny, and she should consider taking it," McGonagall pursed her lips, waiting for Molly to explode again.

"What about her education?"

"She's already a smart and resourceful young woman," McGonagall said. "And if she should require NEWTs in the future, I would welcome her back with open arms."

Molly frowned, realising that she was losing this battle. Ginny was being stubborn, and McGonagall was siding with her.

"I will have to talk to Arthur," she finally said. "We'll continue this tomorrow."

Molly stood up, nodded to McGonagall, kissed her daughter on the head even though she was angry with her, and left the room.

"She doesn't realise that I'm seventeen, does she?" Ginny addressed her headmistress.

Professor McGonagall gave her a small smile, "You're her youngest child. She doesn't want you to grow up."

Ginny sighed. Nobody could stay young forever. Professor McGonagall smiled warmly, and stood from her desk. She led Ginny to the door.

Outside, the hustle and bustle of everyday life was still happening. All around her people were rushing to and from classes. The sun was streaming in through the large windows, and the stone castle felt warmer than it had done since she arrived. The sun was reflecting off of old suits of armor that had been battered during the battle, giving them a strange appearance. Ginny stood, observing for a moment, before deciding to head up to the common room. She didn't feel like going to class today. She would make up an excuse tomorrow

The common room was empty when Ginny arrived. The Fat Lady was in the process of coming up with new passwords when she had arrived, and was drunkenly mumbling under her breath as she swung open.

Ginny flung her bag down onto the floor next to one of the plush chairs, and plonked herself down into it, allowing her mind to be consumed by thoughts of the Holyhead Harpies. This time next week she could be training with some of the strongest women in the sport. She had followed the team when she was younger, always reading about their matches in the Prophet, cheering whenever she read they had won, and being upset at news of losses. She was so close to achieving her life's goal at such a young age. It filled her with such happiness, and the idea that it could be snatched away from her by her parents was something she did not want to think about. In her mind, she was already there.

* * *

"Are you ill?" Luna asked as Ginny sat down next to her in the Great Hall.

It was Monday evening. Ginny had spent most of the day in Gryffindor Tower, dreaming about Quidditch. She had even skipped lunch. By dinner, her stomach was rumbling again, and she thought that it would be best if she rejoin the real world.

"No," Ginny grinned. She hadn't told Luna or Hermione yet about her good news.

"Where have you been?" Hermione dumped her bag on the bench beside Ginny before sitting down. "I've been looking for you everywhere!" She narrowed her eyes, "Why haven't you been to class?"

Ginny shrugged, "Wasn't in the mood."

"Ginny," Hermione said seriously. "Your education is important."

Ginny didn't roll her eyes, even though she really wanted to. Instead, she matched Hermione's tone and said, "Hermione. You dropped out."

"I came back!" Hermione raised her voice in indignation.

"What would you say if I told you that I was going to drop out?" Ginny asked casually as she piled food onto her plate.

"I would ask why," Luna answered. She was again buried in an issue of The Quibbler.

Hermione stared at Ginny, "I would also ask why. You aren't seriously thinking of dropping out, are you?"

Ginny opened her mouth to answer, but closed it upon realising that she didn't really want her friends to know about the Holyhead Harpies offer yet. If her mother had anything to say about it, she wouldn't be going at all, and she didn't want to get her hopes up by spreading the news. Also, even though she knew she shouldn't, Ginny really liked knowing something that everybody else didn't. It made her feel mysterious.

"Of course not," Ginny answered Hermione, giving a small laugh to show that she wasn't serious.

"Good," Hermione gave her a smile. "Anything new, Luna?"

As Luna launched into the story of the possible capture of a particularly unique (and possibly made-up) creature, Ginny returned to her thoughts of Quidditch and the Holyhead Harpies.

She still could not believe that she had met Gwenog Jones, and that Gwenog had offered her a position on the Holyhead Harpies. It was a dream come true.

* * *

The night had turned cold, and there was a fight for the armchairs near the fire. Ginny and Hermione had lost the battle, and were now sat cross-legged on the floor in the corner furthest from the fire. Ginny was staring across the room at it in desire. She pulled her jacket around her tighter. Hermione was giving SPEW a rest tonight, the box of badges tucked away in her trunk under the bed, or so she thought. Ginny had snuck in and taken them, placing them in her own trunk. As a joke, of course, nothing more sinister.

Instead she was reading a copy of The Quibbler with great amusement, and the occasional outburst. Luna had given her a copy, begging her to give it a second chance, and being the good friend that she was, Hermione could not say no.

"You could have gone into it with an open mind, you know," Ginny mumbled, turning her attention away from the enticing fireplace. Hermione sighed and closed the magazine.

"I did," she replied, "I had an open mind for all of ten seconds. And then I moved past the contributors page and read the contents."

Ginny laughed, which raised a smile from Hermione. The pair sat in a comfortable silence, eyes trained on the plush armchairs, ready to pounce when they became available.

"Hear anymore from Ronald?" Ginny enquired. Hermione nodded, sticking her hand into her robe pocket and withdrawing a neatly folded letter. She passed it to her friend.

Ginny took it and opened it up. In the trademark Weasley scrawl Ginny could make out he was telling her about Quidditch and the joke store and George, and nothing about himself. She rolled her eyes, folded it up and passed it back.

"I'm sure Ron's just bad with writing letters," she suggested, and Hermione nodded again.

"I suppose so," she agreed.

Any conversation that would have arose from that moment was cut short by the arrival of Demelza Robins. The Fat Lady swung open and a cold burst of air entered the common room from the corridors outside. Ginny shivered, and Demelza stormed in, determined. Her face was red, her eyes narrowed. She was angry, and she was heading right for Ginny.

Ginny jumped up from the floor and rose to her full height. There was no way she was going to let Demelza intimidate her.

"YOU'RE LEAVING?"

A hush fell across the common room, and Ginny felt her face burn red as all eyes turned on her and Demelza.

"Of course not," Ginny responded, tartly. So it was a half truth, Demelza wouldn't know until Ginny was out of there. "Where do you get such ideas?"

"GWENOG JONES WAS AT OUR MATCH?"

Ginny couldn't tell if this was a statement or a question. Demelza was terrifying when she was angry, her face bright red, her hands trembling.

"SHE - WANTS - YOU - FOR - THE - HARPIES?"

She took deep breaths between each word. There were a few whispers audible from closer to the fire. Ginny backed away slowly and found herself trapped by a wall. Of course, she thought.

"Nothing's official, Demelza," Ginny replied as calmly as she could under the circumstances. "I'm just a regular Hogwarts student like you."

_For now_, Ginny added to herself.

"You sure?" Demelza said, grabbing Ginny's arm. Ginny rolled her eyes.

"As far as I know, I'm here until the end of the year." It wasn't a lie. It was up to her parents.

For a brief moment Demelza was calm, her breathing getting back to normal. And then:

"WHY WEREN'T YOU AT PRACTICE?"

Ginny suppressed a laugh and allowed herself to relax.

"Would you believe I was washing my hair?"

Demelza's anger flared once more, and Ginny was subjected to a long rant in front of almost every Gryffindor about the importance of Quidditch training, and about the detriments of being flippant to those in charge. Ginny couldn't wait to get away from this tyrant.

Demelza Robins left Ginny in peace half an hour later. This followed a large number of the students, most of whom had found themselves bored. Watching one person rant for so long was only interesting for the first few minutes.

Ginny grinned as she noticed the chairs had been vacated, so she took one. Hermione joined her.

"Are you alright?" she asked, and Ginny let out a long sigh before nodding.

"I will be. The bruised pride is the worst of all."

"Ignore her."

"I will."

Hermione allowed the silence to linger for longer than it would have before heading into her next question.

"Were you lying to me earlier?"

Ginny was taken aback, and shook her head out of instinct. "As much as I'd love to join the Harpies, do you really think my _parents_ would let me drop out?"

Hermione thought about this for a moment and breathed a sigh of relief.

"That's good," she said. "I can't imagine what this year would be like without you. I'd have to listen non-stop to Luna's ravings about Wrackspurts…"

Ginny tuned out, her mind filled with thoughts of the meeting tomorrow. She would find out whether or not her future would be beginning.

Ginny tuned back in and heard Hermione had moved on to The Quibbler, and she made a mental note to place the SPEW buttons on Demelza's bed before she was to see Professor McGonagall.

* * *

Ginny couldn't concentrate in any of her classes the next morning. She was fidgety all through Charms, she drew broomsticks all over a piece of parchment in Muggle Studies and she melted a cauldron in Potions.

As she sat in Defence Against the Dark Arts, between Hermione and Luna as usual, she found herself zoning out once again. Luna noticed and passed Ginny a copy of The Quibbler. Ginny shook her head at Luna.

"Today," Professor Snibsob said loudly to capture the class's attention. "We will move on from the fabulous Patronus Charm to something of equal importance: silent incantations."

As he began to tell them the benefits of a silent incantation, Ginny opened a battered copy of _Quidditch Through The Ages _(by Kennilworthy Whisp) and read the paragraph about the Holyhead Harpies, again. She had been reading the paragraph over and over ever since she had borrowed the book out of the library on Sunday evening. A knock at the door interrupted both her, and Professor Snibsob.

Dennis Creevey stood at the door. His eyes swept the room, lingering on Ginny momentarily, before he faced the eccentric professor.

"Yes?" Professor Snibsob addressed Dennis.

"Um," he said, casting his eyes down. "Professor McGonagall needs to see Ginny Weasley."

"Now?" Professor Snibsob seemed a little offended that the headmistress would interrupt his lesson just to see a student.

Dennis Creevey nodded.

"Very well," Professor Snibsob waved his hand in an apathetic manner. "Miss Weasley, off you go."

Hermione and Luna both gave Ginny a curious look. Ginny shrugged at them, indicating that she didn't know what this was about. In her mind though, she knew exactly what it was about - her parents were waiting for her.

Ginny followed Dennis along the corridor. She wanted to say something to him, because their silence was almost awkward, but she didn't know what to say.

As they climbed a staircase to the third floor, Dennis said, "I received a letter from Harry Potter."

"Did you?" Ginny feigned surprise. She was glad that Harry had taken her advice.

"I believe that I have you to thank for it," Dennis glanced at her.

"No, no," Ginny shook her head. "No thanks to me for anything."

Dennis stuck his hands deep in his pocket and avoided looking at the woman. "How have you been?"

Ginny cocked her head slightly. She had never really spoken to him before, but she knew he was desperate for communication, so she nodded. "I've been okay. It's been a rough few months."

"It has," he said, his voice shaking slightly. They began to make their way to Professor McGonagall's office. Ginny kept glancing over as they walked in silence. She could see the glint of tears forming in the corners of his eyes. She placed her hand on his shoulder and stopped in the middle of the corridor. Dennis looked up at Ginny and began to sob.

"I know, I know," Ginny said, her voice filled with sympathy. Without thinking she pulled the young boy into a hug and rubbed his back. "It's… I know."

Ginny wanted to speak, to have him explode, to voice whatever it was he had been internalising, but in the end, just the presence of another person who had suffered similar losses was enough. Dennis smiled at her, and they carried on walking, chatting about Hogwarts, about classes and about Snibsob. Before they knew it they found themselves at the Gargoyle that signaled the office.

"Thanks," he said, his voice now full of life. Ginny smiled and shook her head.

"Don't thank me," she said. "Although if you ever want to talk, I know how hard it is, just come to me, or write, or whatever."

Dennis nodded, said goodbye and walked back along the corridor. Ginny sighed as she watched him go. At this moment she felt so close to him. So many people lost their lives on that horrible night, but it was Dennis Creevey of all people she felt that connection with. Ginny shook her head, turned to the gargoyle and muttered the password.

Ginny took a deep breath before knocking on the door that led to Professor McGonagall's office. She let herself in when she heard the headmistress's voice and found both her parents waiting for her. She greeted them.

"Sit, Ginny," Professor McGonagall pointed to the only empty chair by her desk. Ginny sat. McGonagall turned to Molly. "I presume you've filled Arthur in?"

"Yes," Molly said. "He agrees with me."

Ginny glared at her father. He seemed to be avoiding her gaze.

"Does he now?" McGonagall pursed her lips. "Why don't you let him tell us his reasons why then?" She stared at Arthur expectantly.

Arthur cleared his throat nervously before saying, "First of all, Ginny, I want to tell you how proud I am of you, and that this is an opportunity of a lifetime. I've been taking you to Holyhead Harpies games since you were little, so I know how much it means to you."

Ginny's face softened and a smile crept onto her face. Molly looked ready to intervene, a look of disapproval on her face as she glared at her husband. Arthur cleared his throat again.

"But your mother is right," Arthur looked apologetic. Molly patted his arm encouragingly. Ginny folded her arms. Arthur continued, "Your education is important. You know that. I know that. But I want to give you a chance to tell us why you want to pursue a different path."

"BUT -" Molly, who was nodding at her husband a second ago, interrupted loudly. Arthur held up a hand to stop her. "_Arthur_!" Molly said exasperatedly.

"Let her speak, Molly," Arthur said calmly. He turned to his daughter.

Ginny thought about it for a moment. She wanted to say outright that it was her dream career, but she knew that wouldn't fly with her mother. And then a thought struck her.

"I'm not academic," she began, and Molly rolled her eyes. "No, really mum, I'm terrible."

"You got more OWLs than Fred and George."

"Anybody could get more OWLs than Fred and George."

Molly's face grew red, and Ginny allowed a smile to briefly cross her face.

"I just don't like schooling," she continued, before turning to Professor McGonagall. "I like Hogwarts though."

"I'm so glad," McGonagall replied dryly.

"I'm a Quidditch player, not an academic. I don't want a job on the Prophet, or the Ministry, or any of that. I want to be a Quidditch player. I want to do the best in the one thing that I'm good at, and this offer just validates what I always suspected. I'm good. I could be _great_ if I could take this opportunity."

Arthur watched his daughter thoughtfully. Ginny thought he looked convinced. She glanced at her mother. Molly looked ready to smack her husband.

Ginny sighed and added in the quiet voice that she always used when she apologised after getting into trouble at home, "I promise you that it won't be all for nothing. I _will _make you proud. I can do this. Please, believe in me. Please, allow me to do this."

She instantly saw her father's expression change, and she became hopeful. Her mother's expression remained the same. But with Arthur on her side, maybe they could convince Molly too.

"Mum," Ginny said. "When you were my age, was there anything that you _really _wanted to do?"

Molly was caught off guard, and she stammered, "Well, I...I -"

Arthur, thinking it was an appropriate time to contribute to the conversation, said cheerfully, "Your mother wanted to be the next Newt Scamander."

Ginny gave her mother a pointed look. Molly was too busy glowering at her husband. Arthur shrugged. Molly turned back to Ginny and emitted a little sigh.

"But I've grown up since then," she said sadly. "I know how things turn out."

"The future cannot be foretold," Ginny said. To her left, Professor McGonagall was nodding in agreement. "We can't be certain of it. And I can't be certain that an opportunity like this will ever arise again."

Molly bit her lip, unsure of how to reply. Arthur was trying to communicate with her using his eyes.

Ginny knew that this was the moment she heard her verdict. She leaned forward and looked at her parents.

"Well?"

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**Disclaimer:**** We do not own Harry Potter.**

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**What to expect next chapter:**  
- The verdict and the outcome of the verdict. Will Ginny leave Hogwarts, or will she stay?

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_**A/N:** Yes, this chapter is way shorter than the others. But sometimes it's nice to have short chapters._

_Again, sorry for the late update. Busy weekend. They should be regular from here on, but we are currently on a writing hiatus (due to the fact that the holidays have somehow taken all of our creative juices away) at the moment, so we don't know how long that will last. Only time will tell..._

_Andrew and I would like to thank you all for supporting Green & Gold this year, and we hope you continue to read our stuff in the future. _

Happy New Year! Hope 2014 is magical, and that it brings you much joy and happiness. Best of luck.

**How will Molly respond to Ginny?** _Let us know in a review!_


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